1950 VW Transporter T1 ‘Sofie’ Is The Oldest Known Example In Existence

The Volkswagen Type 2, also known as the Transporter T1, Kombi, Bulli or Bus, has achieved cult status around the world, particularly in the United States where it became the default choice of wheels for the hippie movement in the 1960s.

However, the history of the first-generation Transporter started much earlier, with the first production model leaving the assembly line in Germany in 1950. Believe it or not, there is still a 1950 model in existence and it has been in VW Commercial Vehicles’ (VWCV) collection since 2014.

The oldest street-legal VW Bus is a dove blue panel van with chassis number 20-1880 affectionately called “Sofie”. Seventy years ago, on August 5, 1950, the van rolled off the production line in the Wolfsburg plant and was delivered to Hildesheim to enter into commercial service.

After a 23-year working life that consisted of transporting goods from point A to point B, the classic VW Transporter disappeared for nearly twenty years in private collections. From 1973 to 1992, the vehicle was owned by various VW enthusiasts.

The last of them tried to sell it in 1992 via a magazine run by the ‘Brezelfenstervereinigung e.V.’ fan club. It wasn’t easy, however, as the T1 was not hot property in the early 1990s. Only after multiple ads were placed later in the year did Tonny L. from Denmark become aware of it.

He called up the seller and bought it sight unseen upon learning on the phone that the vehicle has the lowest chassis number known at that time in the Bulli scene. Tonny L. then drove to Germany and returned home with the T1 on the back of a breakdown truck.

Since the van had been off the road for 19 years, he had a lot of work to do. First, he replaced the essential parts to make it drive again and named it Sofie – the name of the first T1 ever delivered to Denmark.

From 2000 to 2003, the 1950 VW Bus underwent a full restoration, after which Tonny drove it to the VW meet in Bad Camberg, Germany. Together, they covered over 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) around Europe, often heading to Bulli meets.

By 2014, however, Tonny decided to sell Sofie as his age didn’t allow him to travel as much. He wanted to place the car in good hands and, soon after word got out that he put up for sale the oldest surviving T1, he was contacted by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Classic Vehicles department. In late 2014, the Bulli arrived in Hannover and has since been part of VWCV’s collection.