A commercial from Volkswagen of America, describing the new Typ 181 launched in 1972 in the vast US market, read: 'Finally a car that can be anything'. And in order not to move away from this concept, this strange vehicle - halfway between a Cabrio Beetle and a Munga, the military vehicle of the Auto Union DKW Munga - was christened in the United States Thing, that is Cosa. With us this particular car had already arrived, as in other European markets, in the summer of 1970, with the name of Pescaccia, while in Germany Volkswagen christened it Kurierwagen, Safari in South America and Mexico, Thing in the USA and Trekker in Great Britain. One thing is certain: evaluating this project half a century later, we realize that indeed - and well ahead of its time - Volkswagen had designed a truly all-rounder model, which was suitable for every possible customer and employment segment, with a transversality that has also made it one of the protagonists of what is now called the lifestyle world.
Thing / Pescaccia was born as a military vehicle, following the request made at the end of the 1950s by NATO to three countries (Italy, France and Germany) to provide a versatile vehicle suitable for the European situation, with specifications of a 'military vehicle light reconnaissance '. Revised several times, also for a change of specifications in 1966, the Typ 181 saw the light in a military variant in the late 1960s. Over 50,000 units have been produced throughout the life cycle of this version, under the Bundeswher. It should be noted that subsequently the House of Wolfsburg also developed the Typ 183 model - called Iltis - with front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive for military use, launched in 1978 to replace the DKW Munga.
During the development of the 181 / Pescaccia, Volkswagen had also assessed the potential of this torpedo also as a model for private individuals, developing in parallel a first version for Europe and, in a second phase, a variant for the United States and the markets in Latin American development. For this overseas 'landing' the Puebla factory in Mexico was chosen where the Beetle was already produced.
Made on elements of the van T1b and of the Typ 3, that is the two-volume sedan 1500 that had been presented in 1961, the 181 / Pescaccia was thus adapted with few modifications for civil use and presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1969. The bodywork, rather square and spartan, it betrayed the military origin of the project but showed not only great practicality, but also an appreciable robustness, despite being a two-wheel drive and not a real off-road vehicle. The engine was the 1493 cc 4-cylinder boxer with 44 HP derived from that of the Beetle and the 1500, and in the basic version - which according to the 1970 price list cost 1,550,000 lire, twice the size of a Fiat 500 - it included a hood with sheet to be mounted on ribs, with side windows in canvas and transparent plastic, not particularly practical. rigid plastic cover. The simplicity of construction and the construction with oversized organs (such as suspensions) made it the ideal vehicle for the countryside, for seaside areas - also suitable for rough roads and a not too demanding off-road vehicle - while it was not ideal for use in the city (it couldn't be closed!) and not even on the highway. For the production of the 181 / Pescaccia the Wolfsburg plants were used since the debut and until 1974, to then move on to the Hanover hub (until 1983) dedicated to commercial vehicles. Manufacturing in Mexico, in Puebla, started in 1970 and lasted until 1980. After its debut in North and South America, Volkswagen also brought the 181 / Pescaccia to Indonesia and production was started in Jakarta in 1973 , where it continued in this case to 1980.
