Oftentimes, you’ll hear me griping about the fact that lawyers and bean counters have sucked the creativity out of the automotive industry. Designers don’t take chances and product managers are afraid to upset the CFO. Hence, we have a sea of SUVs that simply help the big OEMs print money and any other priority is squashed. The VW Thing Acapulco edition shows how wild and free things used to be after VW got wind of their beloved beach cruiser being used to ferry passengers at a resort in Mexico. They actually produced 400 examples for the rest of the world to enjoy, and this project-grade example is listed here on eBay with 2 bids to $505 and the reserve unmet.
The most distinctive feature about the Acapulco edition was the iconic blue-and-white striped seats. This is something you simply don’t see anymore – devil-may-care attitudes about features that wouldn’t make it past internal regulators today. The Thing was already a somewhat bananas idea just on its own, with VW taking a vehicle designed for the West German army and deciding to market it for a civilian use. In a somewhat ironic twist, this is exactly what Mercedes-Benz has done with the Gelandewagen, taking a military vehicle and selling it to consumers at a premium price.
The Thing, Acapulco edition or not, features an air-cooled 1.6-liter flat-four engine good for 46 horsepower and 72 lb-ft of torque. These were not powerful machines and despite being marketed for civilian use, VW didn’t change its military identity all that much. The seller doesn’t tell us much about the mechanical health of the Thing, other than noting it came out of an estate of a lawyer who had passed away. It’s clear it has rust, body damage, and more, but the fact that it’s still easily identifiable as an Acapulco edition is all that matters for a Thing collector.
It looks like the doors are pressed in a bit as well, but fortunately, those are easily replaceable. To me, a Thing like this is not about the military connection but being transported to a time when a resort in Mexico used these blue-and-white curiosities to shuttle passengers to an amazing seaside vacation. We love cars like these because they transport us to another time or place that doesn’t exist anymore. Whether this Thing comes back to life is unknown, but I sure hope it gets another chance to spread some joy.
Gimme gimme gimme dat ding, The Pipkins, 1970, we in Wisconsin loved the Thing, it took a lot of pressure off the AMC jokes of the time. I never heard of an “Acapulco” version, sounds like MiniMoke and Jeep Surrey beach vehicles, I’m sure someone bought one without ever thinking what it was. Since “our” side of Lake Michigan has very skimpy beaches, on ‘t’other side, I could see it. A VW Thing in Michigan? What’s the harm? Not likely, and we would see one VERY rarely in Wisconsin, if we did, it was followed by laughs and jeers. I realize AMC had some wacky vehicles, but at least they LOOKED like vehicles. This was a joke from the get go. About 30,000, 181s were sold in the US in ’73 &’74, and I bet THIS is the best of the remaining examples. Beach? Salt water? Here you go.
This is listed by the wrecking yard as the rebodied Superbird, Porsche 914 and Volkswagen pickup featured on this site within the last few weeks. Everything they have is way overpriced, even more so that most dealers.
Steve R