Our Kübelwagen is pretty much ready to find its space within our museum. If you read about it back in August, you will know that literally translated, a Kübelwagen is a ‘bucket car.’ Designed to be very light, the Kübelwagen was the invention of Ferdinand Porsche, fabricated by Volkswagen for the German military during World War II.

The name is a shortened version of the Type 62 prototype named the Kübelsitzwagen meaning ‘bucket-seat car.’ All German light military vehicles without doors were fitted with bucket seats to ensure that passengers didn’t fall out.

Despite the lack of 4-wheel drive mechanics that the backbone of US and Allied jeeps, the vehicle was able to move well over difficult terrain. With a lowest speed at 2.5 mph to match the pace of marching soldiers, production began in February 1940 of the Type 82. Production ended in 1945 with only a few minor changes to the Type 82. Prototype versions with 4×4 mechanics were created, but they offered no real performance improvement and so the changes were never implemented.

Our Kübelwagen has been tracked back to Czechoslovakia and is peppered with bullet holes having seen active service in 1944. You can see the hole from the bullet that potentially disabled the engine in the photos accompanying this blog.

Nitro has been the main restorer of the Kübelwagen, although everyone has played some part in the process. The engine has been taken out and completely stripped down, sills replaced and any of the metal work that was degraded has been replaced. The bullet holes at stress points have been filled and the structure strengthened- although those not effecting the functionality of the wagon have been left in place. The rotted areas of metalwork have been replaced and the machine gunners footplate has been replaced with one that Nitro made. The bodywork has been needle gunned to get rid of the chipped paint and the whole vehicle has had a complete re-spray.

The Kübelwagen is restored to its former beauty. In its time, it would have been used in the same way that the Allied troops used the jeep; for moving staff, food, kit, rations and the like.

The vehicle is light enough for 2 people to lift, enabling the driver and passenger to lift it out of any situations in which it may have been stuck. It was designed for 2 people although there are back seats and housing to secure 4 guns in transit- again shown on a picture to the left.

Such an interesting vehicle, we are really excited to get it up to the museum and to hear what you all think about it. We are looking forward to hearing your comments.

See more in our Military Vehicle Museum