ID. Buzz

Make
Volkswagen
Segment
Van

VWCV Classic Vehicles recently unveiled its latest restoration project, the Half-track Fox.

It started life as a standard T1 (Bulli) that rolled off the production line in Hanover in May 1962. The T1 is the famous forefather of the upcoming ID. Buzz. It was purchased by a man in Austria, who kept it standard for about five minutes. A Viennese Volkswagen mechanic converted the Bulli into a T1 with four axles. Two of them were fitted with a chain drive mechanism, with the other two steering the vehicle using double tires. It was an off-roading machine, perfect for the snow-covered slopes of Austria.

The mechanic, Kurt Kretzner, was a keen skier and noticed a lack of vans with off-road ability. "At first, I had a look around but couldn't find the vehicle I was dreaming of. So, I decided to build it myself," said Kretzner.

He spent more than four years designing what he called the Half-track Fox. He wanted to sell it to other people, but only three were ever made. "An ideal helper for everyone: mountain hut keepers, hunters, foresters, doctors, maintenance engineers for ski-lifts, TV and radio masts, pipelines and the like," as Kretzner later wrote in the sales literature for the Half-track Fox.

At the front, this Bulli has a steered double axle with dual rough-tread 14-inch tires and, at the back, another double axle with chain drive. The chains were mounted on 13-inch wheels, and Kretzner constructed the aluminum elements with rubber blocks so he wouldn't hurt the asphalt.

Even by today's standards, it's an epic off-roader. It can turn within its own circumference, and each wheel was fitted with its own brake. An automatic limited-slip differential ensured evenly distributed forward propulsion even in deep snow.

The Half-track Fox also proved that you don't need big power to go off-road. The 1,192 cc air-cooled flat-four engine was left standard, producing 33.5 horsepower. Thanks to that power output, it could reach nearly 22 mph. That's roughly the same average ground speed as Usain Bolt.

The "half-track" in its name comes from the steering system. Kretzner wanted the steering to be easy, which is why he opted not for steering via chains on every axle.

The Half-track Fox was lost to time but popped up in 1985 in Vienna. The Porsche Museum in Gmund bought the car, but it eventually found its way into the hands of the local Bulli club. The Bulli lovers tried to restore it but failed.

At the end of 2018, the Half-track Fox came into the collection of VWCV Classic Vehicles. It had all the necessary resources to restore the car. The car was stripped, given a cathodic dip coating, and painted in orange as close as possible to the original color.

It took VWCV Classic Vehicles four years to restore the car. The mechanics were restored to as-new condition. Wood components in beech and pine were individually adapted to the space inside the Half-track Fox, and practical tool holders were installed.

In February 2022 VWCV took it on an off-road adventure again and snapped the images you see on this page. VW's press release doesn't say what's up next for the Half-track Fox, but it will likely end up in a museum in Hanover.