Volkswagen Kübelwagen

The Volkswagen Type 82 Kübelwagen, or simply Kübel, is a military light utility vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche and built by Volkswagen during World War II for use by the Nazi German military, both the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS. The name contracts the German word Kübelsitzwagen, meaning bucket-seat car. Based heavily on the Volkswagen Beetle, it was prototyped and first deployed in Poland as the Type 62 and, after improvements, entered full-scale production as the Type 82 in February 1940. Its rolling chassis and mechanics were built at the Stadt des KdF-Wagens, renamed Wolfsburg after 1945, and its body at Ambi Budd in Berlin. From March 1943 it received the larger 1,131 cc engine developed for the Schwimmwagen, and when production ceased 50,435 had been built. Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Tatra also built Kübelsitzwagen, though only rear-wheel drive models, and VW revived the basic design as the 1969 Type 181.