The last Volkswagen “microbus” ever to roll off an assembly line has arrived at a VW museum in Hanover, Germany. Built in Brazil on December 20, 2013, the final Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi ended a 63-year run of the iconic hippie bus.
The light blue and white Type 2 is a “Last Edition” model, part of a 1,200-vehicle run honoring the long-lived model. Offered only in Brazil, the last country to continue building and selling the microbuses, it ended a continuous production stint that began on September 2, 1957. However, new Brazilian regulations mandating airbags and ABS have forced VW to put the iconic model down for good. All Last Edition cars featured a “56 Kombi” sticker on the rear quarter panel, a reference to the number of years of Brazilian assembly.
According to Autoweek, 3.5 million Kombis have been built worldwide, with Brazil accounting for 1.5 million of them. Though in 1991 the engine was changed from air- to water-cooling, adding a large radiator grille in the process, the overall shape had not changed in over half a century.
The last Last Edition will now take its place as part of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle headquarter’s permanent collection along with other significant workhorses from the company’s past.