Volkswagen

The Volkswagen'Type 2 was introduced in 1950 as a multi-variant utility vehicle and was designated as a Transporter, Kombi or Microbus depending on body type. It was conceived as a natural partner to the Volkswagen Type 1, better known as the original 'Beetle'. The first generation of these versatile vehicles carried the works nomenclature T1 and were produced with distinctive split screens (subsequently known as 'Splitties') from 1950 until 1967, and these have become the most sought-after models.

Originally conceived as a practical commercial vehicle, it went on to find its own niche as a campervan, even though Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg and Hanover factories never actually assembled them in ‘home-from-home’ campervan form enabling aftermarket companies to foresee and fulfil that potential. It’s in campervan form that the Type 2 cemented its reputation as carefree transport for the counterculture in the 1960s, especially in America, with the relatively compact camper from Europe capturing the imagination of the hippy movement in a way that home-grown alternatives simply didn't. What’s more, its robust mechanicals and economical running made it the ideal way for young Americans to get mobile, utilising an air-cooled engine and independent suspension, it meant the ‘Splitty’ provided a relatively comfortable way to make slow progress on any road trip.

A Devon Conversion Company VW campervan is one of the most recognisable and enduring names in British Volkswagen history. For many UK owners, a ‘Devon Camper’ became synonymous with practical, family-friendly touring, and the company played a major role in shaping how campervans were used across Britain from the 1950s onwards.

The original company was begun by a chap called Jack White in a garden shed in Sidmouth and traded as 'J. P. WHITE'. Jack was a carpenter-builder with a passion for VWs and he began producing the Caravette (as he named it) in earnest from the shed in 1956, then moving into the Alexandria works, a former gasworks site at Sidmouth, with its own railway sidings. By 1960, it employed 75 local tradesmen and produced 1,000 Caravettes a year – VWs were shipped in by train!

Unlike Westfalia, which worked closely with Volkswagen in Germany, Devon operated as an independent British coachbuilder, allowing it to tailor conversions specifically to UK camping habits. Early Devon conversions on Volkswagen Type 2 split screen models (1950–1967) focused on durability and ease of use rather than luxury. By 1972 the company was the official VW converter for the UK and sold 3,500 campervans per year. The company moved to Exeter in 1981, before finally going into voluntary liquidation in 1985; the end of an era in British campervan history.

The example presented here is a remarkably original, right-hand drive 1966 Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) Split Screen campervan with a Devon interior that's been with its one owner from new. Single ownership for sixty years makes this Type 2 rather special, however, what makes it almost certainly unique is that it still wears its original paint (only the bumpers and wheels have been repainted), retains its original awning, jack/tool kit, the rare, optional-extra of a spare wheel lock (on the gear-stick), and is accompanied by its original service booklet (containing the original service book), owner’s manual, spare keys (with the original VW main dealer key ring from 1966). Additionally, there is every MOT Certificate (at the same testing centre!) from 1972 to 2018, and a full service history, having covered just 60,500 miles – all within the UK! Surely, this must be one of most well-preserved, early campervans in existence?! What a find and most likely unrepeatable.

The Devon interior is all-original, even down to the curtains - like stepping into the showroom in 1966 - whilst the 1,500cc engine still runs on a 6V system (to remain authentic), and the underside has never been welded, seemingly as it left the factory. Lovingly-kept, always garaged and regularly serviced, this campervan is one for the VW-purist, a worthy attendee at any VW club event, perfect for the aficionado who appreciates originality, or even as a template example to anyone who wanted to restore a similar campervan, it really is that good.

Transmission: Manual