A Volkswagen Type 181 – a rare 1960s buggy developed for the military, which is also known as 'The Thing' – has sold at auction in Greece for $20,000.
A rare Volkswagen Thing – an open-topped vehicle designed for the military, based on a classic Beetle – has gone under the hammer in Greece, attracting a final bid of €13,500 ($AU20,870).
The Volkswagen Type 181, to give it its official designation, attracted a total of 53 bids on popular online auction house Collecting Cars.
Originally developed for the Bundeswehr, the West German army, the VW Type 181 was an open-topped buggy used primarily for light transport duties by various military services. Production started in 1968.
Sharing components and running gear with the Volkswagen Type 1 (Beetle), the Type 181 was made available to the public in 1971, marketed variously as the Kurlerwagen (Germany), Thing (US), Safari (Mexico and South America) and Pescaccia (Italy).
