olkswagen Iltis

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Volkswagen Iltis
VW Iltis 001.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Volkswagen
Production 1978 1988
9,547 built[1]
8,800 for German forces
747 other
Body and chassis
Class Military vehicle
Body style Various, mostly cabriolet
Layout Front engine, four wheel drive
Powertrain
Engine
1.7 l I4
1.6 l diesel I4
Chronology
Predecessor VW Type 181
The Volkswagen Type 183, more commonly known as the Iltis (German for polecat),
is a military vehicle built by Volkswagen for use by the German military. Also t
he Iltis was built under licence in Canada by Bombardier for 2,500 vehicles for
the Canadian Forces and 2,673 vehicles for the Belgian Army. The Canadian produc
tion ran from 1984 to 1988 during which time a small number of vehicles were als
o delivered to Cameroon and Oman. Although the two vehicles were briefly offered
simultaneously, the Type 183 effectively replaced the Type 181.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Specifications
2 The Iltis with Citron engine
3 Operators
3.1 Former operators
4 References
5 External links
6 See also
History[edit]
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The German military had been part of a cooperative effort, beginning in the late
1960s, to create what was dubbed the "Europa Jeep", an amphibious four wheel dr
ive vehicle that could replace the small all-terrain transport vehicles being us
ed by several of the participating governments. With development taking longer t
han expected, the German military requested that something inexpensive be built
in small quantities to fill their need for additional small transport vehicles w
hile the Europa Jeep project was still undergoing design research. Volkswagen re
sponded to the request, designing an updated version of their Kbelwagen and desig
nating it the Type 181. But by 1976, the Europa Jeep project had fallen apart co
mpletely, the victim of skyrocketing costs and a difficult development. Needing
a suitable four wheel drive vehicle to take over the spots that had been designa
ted for the Europa Jeep, the German government issued requests to several manufa
cturers to design and build prototype vehicles to be considered for military use
.
Prior to the advent of the Type 181, the German military had purchased several t
housand vehicles of the Munga, a light jeep manufactured by DKW, but production
of the Munga had ended in 1968. Volkswagen had then consolidated the former Auto
Union marques into a single company, re-using the Audi name to designate vehicl
es manufactured by the company rather than continuing to manufacture vehicles un
der the names of the various brands that had made up the original Auto Union.
Rear view of the Iltis
Wanting to immediately begin making use of the technologies they had acquired in
the Auto Union purchase, VW chose to participate in the competition to provide
the next new German military vehicle by creating an evolution of the Munga jeep,
which had been out of production for several years by this time. The German arm
ed forces were anxious to replace the outdated two-stroke machine.[2] The result
ant prototype combined old technologies with new, and executives decided to badg
e the product as a VW rather than as an Audi in the hopes that this would help p
romote positive linking to the existing VW military designs and give them an adv
antage over their competition.
Paris-Dakar Rally winner of 1980
The vehicle, developed by Audi, featured a variation of the Munga's platform wit
h newly modified suspension components, a four-wheel-drive system based around c
omponents from the Audi 100, and a 1.7 litre four-cylinder Volkswagen engine pro
ducing 75 PS (55 kW).[2] The design of this four-wheel drive system provided the
basis for Audi's Quattro system, which debuted four years later, in 1980, on th
e original Audi Quattro. Earlier that year, Freddy Kottulinsky and Gerd Lffelmann
had won the Paris-Dakar Rally in an Audi-prepared Iltis.
The Iltis, as VW was now calling it, passed the German government's tests with e
ase, and was chosen over the equally competent but more expensive Mercedes-Benz
G-Wagen. Production began in the summer of 1978 and the first 200 units were del
ivered in November; by late 1979 approximately 2,000 units had been delivered wi
th 310 units sent to the Luftwaffe and 20 sent to the German Navy. Although most
of the units produced were four-doored with open tops, ambulance, anti-tank, ar
tillery survey, command and field communications units with varying bodystyles w
ere produced in small numbers. A civilian model was also offered, mostly in Germ
any. It was first shown at the 1979 Geneva Motor Show and entered production soo
n thereafter, originally only with a utilitarian soft top.[2] The civilian Iltis
found even fewer takers than the 181 had, largely due to price and its utilitar
ian nature.
Specifications[edit]
The engine has a low 8.2 : 1 compression ratio, allowing it to run on low-octane
gasoline. The four-wheel drive is engaged by a lever on the floor, as are the o
ptional differential locks. The car has rack-and-pinion steering and many suspen
sion parts are the same at all four corners.[2] The interior is minimal, althoug
h the seats, from the contemporary Volkswagen Passat, were considered surprising
ly comfortable by period observers. The tiny back seat has two individually fold
ing seat backs, but can be considered mainly a