From tarmac to trail: A history of VW’s off-road vans, Part 1

Volkswagen celebrates 40 years since the T3 Syncro broke free from the tarmac, becoming the brand’s first all-wheel drive van to go where none dared before. But was it really the first?

With the shiny new 2025 Volkswagen Transporter carrying the German giant’s all-wheeler tradition into the future, we’re looking back on the history of off-road Volkswagen vans. Featuring iconic silhouettes, a needle-in-a-haystack flatbed, and an unlikely world record breaker — strap in for our first instalment of vans that don’t need no roads.

The T3 Syncro

It all begins in 1985: Eastenders has just hit the small screen for the first time, Live Aid is rocking the world, and the T3 Syncro makes its debut. 

Already on the market as a rear-wheel drive cargo hauler for six years at this point, the standard T3 was already renowned for the ample space offered within its iconic silhouette. But using this space to harbour a propshaft and front-axle differential to drive the front wheels? Groundbreaking. And with that, VW’s first all-wheel drive van was born.

Combining this same spaciousness — which could be packed with far more comfort than most off-roaders at the time — with its newfound overlanding capabilities, the T3 Syncro was able to stretch its legs beyond its commercial vehicle purpose, becoming ‘a vehicle for travelling the world’.

Does that still not sound off-roady enough? Well, things kicked up another gear with an ‘extreme’ makeover in 1987. Out of the 45,478 T3 Syncros built in total, 2,138 were heavy duty models, adding: 16-inch wheels, even more ground clearance, various rugged chassis modifications, bigger brakes, and a rear axle lock. Within this, 60 extra-special ‘expedition’ flatbed vans were build, brining rear loading beds and a one-tonne off-road payload — as well as an iconic look, in our opinion.

Hold on, what about the T2?

Rewind. But was the T3 really VW’s first all-wheeler van? 

Technically, yes, it was. But, step back into the ‘70s, and Gustav Mayer (Head of Transporter Development) had actually already dipped a toe into the world of all-wheel drive vans following a few trips to the Sahara Desert in his trusty T2 Transporter. 

Being the iconic 1967 hauler, his T2 was strictly a rear-wheel drive affair, and — as the tale goes — poor old Gustav spent so much time with a shovel in his hand as a result, he went in search of a solution. 

By 1978, five prototype T2s were out tackling the desert dunes, utilising selectable front-wheel drive to put all four corners in motion. By all accounts the testing of the all-wheel drive T2s was a success, but with the T3 set to take its place the following year, the plaudits as VW’s first true production off-road van went to the new model as well.

The T4 Syncro

Ok, back to the timeline (chronological from here out, we promise). It’s now 1993, three years since T4 Multivan entered the frame, hailed as a ‘technical revolution’ — and that’s before it got the Syncro treatment. 

Part of the T4’s complete concept overhaul included shifting the engine from the rear to the front, creating a front-wheel drive van where the front seats now sat behind the axle. This was then easily Syncro’d through the addition of a Visco clutch carrying power to the back — cementing what was now an all-wheel drive tradition at the same time.

Now, *spoiler alert* six years later the T4 Syncro went on to set an adventurous world record. But what was it? You’ll have to check out Part 2 here to find out, where we’ll track VW’s all-wheel drive vans up to present day. 

Hero image credit: VW