VW Typ 82 Kübelwagen
From 1940 onwards, Volkswagen (Fallersleben) produced the Typ 82, better known as the Kübelwagen. The design was based on Ferdinand Porsche's civilian KdF-Wagen and used the same air-cooled flat-four engine, producing around 25 hp. Despite its light, monocoque body of flat steel panels and the absence of four-wheel drive, the Kübelwagen proved surprisingly capable in desert and off-road conditions, thanks in large part to its low weight of just under 750 kilograms. The vehicle seated four and was widely used for reconnaissance, communications and personnel transport at the front. No armament was fitted as standard, but an MG 34 or MG 42 was often mounted as a field modification. By the end of the war, some 52,000 units had been built, making the Kübelwagen one of the most recognisable and widespread vehicles in the Wehrmacht's inventory.
