The Volkswagen Iltis was the final Jeep-type vehicle produced by Volkswagen, coming from a long line of military vehicles produced by Volkswagen-beginning with the Kubelwagen, Schwimmwagen, Type 181/Thing; and the Porsche Jagdwagen.

The Volkswagen Iltis is, in many ways; a Golf adapted into a Jeep-type vehicle.

The Iltis’s 4-wheel-drive system was later transplanted into Audi models as the original Quattro all-wheel-drive system.

The idea to transplant Iltis’s 4-wheel-drive system into an Audi passenger car came in 1977, and it was the brainchild of Audi’s chassis engineer, Jörg Bensinger. Bensinger had found  that the Iltis could outperform any other vehicle in snow, no matter how powerful. Bensinger’s idea was to start developing an Audi 80 variant in co-operation with Volkswagen/Audi’s Director of Pre-Development, Walter Treser.

The Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen was the other contender for the German military’s proposal for the latest Jeep-type vehicle in the late 1970’s. Both vehicles were as equally competent off-road, but the Iltis had a lower asking price per unit than the Gelandewagen did. So the contact was awarded by the German military to Volkswagen.

In the civilian world, cost was the complete opposite for the Iltis and the Gelandewagen. A limited amount of Iltises were produced for the civilian market, all of which were very expensive and out of reach for most European consumers; while the 460 Gelandewagen was reasonably priced for the average European consumer.

The Belgian military was one of many militaries that had purchased the Iltis. Pictured below is one transporting King Albert II during Belgian National Day.

A video about the Iltis:

My father has always wanted to have a Corrado or a GTI with the VR6. The Audi TT can be considered as the official successor to the Corrado because both are sport cars on the Golf platform, and Volkswagen had most likely felt that they would be better off marketing their next-generation halo sport car as an Audi and not as a Volkswagen because people expect a higher sticker price for an Audi, and the clientele for Audi is more affluent when compared to Volkswagen; especially for the top reason for the Corrado’s demise-it having been the most expensive model that Volkswagen had built and sold the world over. Without a doubt, the world was not ready for an expensive Volkswagen-branded product during the Corrado’s time. An Audi-branded product had always been a different story.

The Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT are more possibilities to have as a ‘toy’ vehicle as some point in time in the future, besides the K5 Blazer/2-door Tahoe and the Dodge Ramcharger/Plymouth TrailDuster.

The Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT will fulfill both mine and my father’s Volkswagen frenzies, and either one of these 3 cars serve my emotional needs of once again having a Volkswagen.

To get parts for the Corrado, GTI with the VR6, or the Audi TT; we would take a short drive within the Detroit Metropolitan Area to the same place where in “Early Life And Continuous Livelihood”, my father takes Rick Steves to that wholesales OEM Volkswagen/Audi parts. In reality, they had recently moved to a new location and warehouse on 10 Mile Road in Warren, Michigan.

http://www.partsplaceinc.com/

The other child that my parents had, as well as her husband will never be allowed to drive the heavier-duty pickup. The only other person that will ever drive this truck besides my parents is myself, yours truly. This includes me getting angry to no end if my mother generously offers my sister and her husband to drive the Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT.
The relatives that we don’t like and don’t associate with-my mother’s family will never be allowed in the Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT. This also includes me not only having a coronary if my mother had generously offered for both her eldest brother’s daughter and his niece, and her youngest brother’s son to drive the Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT.
Darlene, her husband and sons; and Carletta and her daughter will also never be allowed in this truck, and Moe nor Carletta’s older daughter would be allowed in the Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT.if they were still alive.
Mary Agnes “Mag”, Shannon, Alison, Sean; and Colin will all be required to ride in the backseat of the regardless of how crammed and uncomfortable they’d be in the backseat of the Corrado and the TT, being designed mainly for temporary use; and both cars having a 2+2 seating configuration. The GTI with the VR6, being a conventional 3-door Golf with a more powerful engine and sportier suspension and handling characteristics; should have a slightly roomier backseat, and unlike the other 2 cars- the GTI can seat up to 5 people.

Maybe Mary Agnes “Mag”, Shannon, Alison, Sean; and Colin will all come to realize just how important Volkswagens/Audis have always been to us.

With the Corrado and the TT being on the Golf platform and the GTI being a standard 3-door Golf with a more powerful engine, I can stress to the 3 girls Volkswagen’s heavy usage of the Golf platform for other vehicles-such as the Tiguan, Touran, and the Caddy; and Ford’s heavy usage of the Focus platform for the Escape/Kuga, Lincoln MKC, C-MAX; and the Transit Connect.

I can also use this time in our Volkswagen product to try and talk Alison into buying locally while at home in Italy: a European-spec Fiesta, Focus, Fusion/Mondeo, Escape/Kuga, C-MAX, Transit Connect, B-MAX, Transit Courier, EcoSport B-Segment SUV, new-generation Ford Edge; or an S-MAX/Galaxy. Alison would love the Fiesta as much as she loves the Volkswagen Polo, she would lobe the Focus as much as she loves the Golf; and Alison would also love the Fusion/Mondeo as much as she loves the Passat.

With the Mustang going on sale in Europe for the first time in Europe, Alison could also maybe consider buying a European-spec Mustang, or maybe even both the front-wheel-drive and the rear-wheel-drive versions of the Transit Full-Size Van.
Ann, Paul, and maybe also Margaret and Ralph will also be required to ride in the backseat of the Corrado, GTI with the VR6; or the Audi TT. Margaret & Ralph having once owned a diesel 1st generation Golf/Rabbit and with Ann & Paul having owned many Volkswagens before- will more likely comprehend our emotional attachment to Volkswagens/Audis.

Photos of the Corrado:

Prototype of a roadster version of the Corrado that Volkswagen had considered building:

https://flic.kr/p/uxTo57

https://flic.kr/p/tTC68z

https://flic.kr/p/uxTgSE

Cutaway of the Corrado:

Printed magazine advertisement from Canada for the Corrado:

Photos of the 2 generations of GTI that were available with the VR6-the 3rd and 4th generations:

Advertisement for the 3rd generation Jetta with the VR6, that was intended to be a 4-door sedan version of the GTI:

Photos of the Audi TT:

https://flic.kr/p/5u1bad