Boxing Clever

Although this oversize box van was originally a special conversion developed by the Dutch coachbuilders Kemperink, it proved so popular that by 1959 it had become a VW approved conversion, available to order from dealerships.

- THEO MOSMAN

The family firm Kemperink was founded in the 1890s and by the 1930s had become a well-established coachbuilding company. In the early 1950’s they were approached by a mattress manufacturer in Amsterdam who wanted something larger than the available VW box van conversions for delivering his bulky, but comparatively light, loads. Kemperink’s solution was to take a standard VW single cab Pick Up without side gates, cut it in two, and extend it by 90cm to 5.34 meters. The enclosed carry space was fabricated from square section tubing with steel sides and the roof section made from molded fiberglass. Access to the load area was via twin side doors and a large rear door, (or two single ones), though roll shutter doors were also available. Side windows could also be specified. By adding a length of 90 cm and a height of 35cm, the available cargo volume was doubled from 5 to nearly 10 m2, significantly more than all the other 1 tonners that were on the market at that time.