Volkswagen Iltis

The Volkswagen Type 183, more commonly known as the Iltis, German for polecat, is a military light utility vehicle designed and manufactured by Volkswagen in the 1970s and 1980s for use by the West German military. It was also produced under licence in Canada by Bombardier for the militaries of Canada and Belgium. The vehicle, developed by Audi, took a variation of the Munga's platform with newly modified suspension, a four-wheel-drive system built around components from the Audi 100, and a 1.7 litre four-cylinder Volkswagen engine of 75 PS. Production began in the summer of 1978 and the first 200 vehicles were delivered in November. It was first shown at the 1979 Geneva Motor Show, and its four-wheel-drive design provided the basis for the quattro system that debuted in 1980. In 1980 an Audi-prepared Iltis won the Paris-Dakar Rally, and the Type 183 effectively replaced the Type 181.