Volkswagen Country Buggy
Encyclopedia
In 1967 Volkswagen
Australasia Ltd. started with a project vehicle designed for Australia's rough conditions. This vehicle, designated Country Buggy or Type 197, was designed by project head Volkswagen Australasia's Managing Director Rudi Herzmer and VW Engineer Cyril Harcourt in VW Australia's Clayton Factory.
The Country Buggy was based on an Australian-made Type 1 platform with engine, gearbox and front axle from the Type 1. The rear swing axles had reduction gears from a 1st generation Volkswagen Transporter
(1950–1967).
Originally, the idea was to make the Country Buggy an amphibious vehicle
, however directives from VW Germany curtailed this vision.
The Country Buggy started production in July 1967, with exports to the Philippines
, Singapore
, New Zealand
& some other small Pacific nations.
The Philippine Country Buggies were marketed as the "Sakbayan", a portmanteau of the Tagalog words "Sasakyan" (Vehicle) and "Bayan" (Nation or Country). In the Pam Grier
film Black Mama, White Mama
, several Country Buggies were seen as police vehicles. These were in fact the Sakbayans, as the filming location took place in the Philippines.
VW Australasia's Country Buggy also caught the attention of the chief heads in Wolfsburg, and one or two were sent to Wolfsburg for evaluation. In reality, VW was developing their own Country Buggy competitor, the Volkswagen 181
.
A Country Buggy with a canvas awning style roof can be seen very clearly in an Australian Coca Cola commercial from 1969 featuring an Australian band called "The Executives"
The Country Buggy was not a big success. It had some early reliability problems which doomed it, as well as it being ahead of the market trend of the day.
Production ended in 1969 with only 1956 units built. Very few Country Buggies survive today, but Sakbayans are being restored in the Philippines following increasing interest in the original Volkswagen Beetle
.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
Australasia Ltd. started with a project vehicle designed for Australia's rough conditions. This vehicle, designated Country Buggy or Type 197, was designed by project head Volkswagen Australasia's Managing Director Rudi Herzmer and VW Engineer Cyril Harcourt in VW Australia's Clayton Factory.
The Country Buggy was based on an Australian-made Type 1 platform with engine, gearbox and front axle from the Type 1. The rear swing axles had reduction gears from a 1st generation Volkswagen Transporter
Volkswagen Transporter
The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its fifth generation, refers to a series of vans produced over 60 years and marketed worldwide....
(1950–1967).
Originally, the idea was to make the Country Buggy an amphibious vehicle
Amphibious vehicle
An amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
, however directives from VW Germany curtailed this vision.
The Country Buggy started production in July 1967, with exports to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
& some other small Pacific nations.
The Philippine Country Buggies were marketed as the "Sakbayan", a portmanteau of the Tagalog words "Sasakyan" (Vehicle) and "Bayan" (Nation or Country). In the Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
film Black Mama, White Mama
Black Mama, White Mama
Black Mama, White Mama is a 1973 women in prison film with elements of blaxploitation, starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, and directed by Eddie Romero.-Plot:...
, several Country Buggies were seen as police vehicles. These were in fact the Sakbayans, as the filming location took place in the Philippines.
VW Australasia's Country Buggy also caught the attention of the chief heads in Wolfsburg, and one or two were sent to Wolfsburg for evaluation. In reality, VW was developing their own Country Buggy competitor, the Volkswagen 181
Volkswagen 181
The Volkswagen Type 181 "Kurierwagen", popularly known in the United Kingdom as the Trekker , in the United States as the Thing, and in Mexico as the Safari, was a small military vehicle produced by Volkswagen from 1969 to 1983, although civilian sales stopped in 1980...
.
A Country Buggy with a canvas awning style roof can be seen very clearly in an Australian Coca Cola commercial from 1969 featuring an Australian band called "The Executives"
The Country Buggy was not a big success. It had some early reliability problems which doomed it, as well as it being ahead of the market trend of the day.
Production ended in 1969 with only 1956 units built. Very few Country Buggies survive today, but Sakbayans are being restored in the Philippines following increasing interest in the original Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
.