It was one of last year’s unique motoring events celebrating 60 years of the legendary Volkswagen Transporter van. A total of 71,000 visitors converged on the Hanover Exhibition Centre last October for the first International VW Bus Meeting. Lutz Schilling (author) and Cliff Serna (photographer) have now compiled an endearing documentation of the event with “60 Years VW Bulli – The Book”

The book costs 14.90 euro (plus postage) and is available via the www.vw-bulli.de website. VW Mini-Bus clubs can place collective orders. This book is a must-have gift for all VW Mini-Bus enthusiasts, old-timer fans and, of course, for everyone who visited the event.

The book features 330 pages of studio shots of the most stunning Volkswagen vans and their owners as well as a catalogue of photos of almost all the registered participant vehicles. A list of owners who registered to attend the event is also included, and photographs taken at the event bear witness to the devotion of the enthusiasts to their Volkswagen vans. Needless to say, the story of this legendary vehicle (originally soberly named “Type 2”) is also detailed in the book, with the author looking back on 60 years of its history. Photographer Serna has added shots of the finest exhibits displayed at the Wolfsburg Automobile Museum as well.

“The International Volkswagen Bus Meeting was a truly remarkable experience,” says Harald Schomburg, the member of the board of management responsible for sales and marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and the man whose brainchild the event was.

“Not least, of course, thanks to all our loyal fans who brought their vehicles along. For all those people, this book will surely be a perfect memento of an unforgettable event.”

Schomburg concludes that, “The book will let the hearts of Volkswagen van fans everywhere beat a little faster.”

The author-and-photographer team Schilling and Serna had set up a studio in one of the exhibition halls at the event to take the high-quality shots that would later make up a good proportion of the photo material for the book. The portraits of more than 440 Volkswagen vans and their owners were created in that temporary studio, with a team of 14 helpers at hand to ensure the smooth running of this logistically challenging project. Photos were also taken of all the Volkswagen vans that were independently driven through the gates as registered participants.

Among the most spectacular studio portraits are a black-and-red stretch conversion of the Volkswagen bus, a mint-coloured T1 pick-up with a camper van trailer and a bright yellow T3 converted to an “ambulance van”.