Back in the 1980s, when the Audi Quattro was dominating world rallying, there was another equally durable vehicle in the background that made sure the rally cars could get from one stage to the next.

The Audi rally crew were just one of the groups of people who swore by the Volkswagen Transporter and its rugged durability – but the Syncro model had more in common with the rally car than you’d first think. Look at any period TV footage of the works rally machines and you’ll see VW T3 Syncros in full VAG works livery, which were used for ferrying the pit crew and their tools. They were also more closely related to the Audi than you’d realise – not because they were four-wheel-drive, but because they were developed as a side project by the same engineers.

Whilst developing that seminal Quattro, Audi’s specialist engineering team, led by Bernd Pischetsreider (who went on to become the infamous BMW chief that brokered the purchase of Rover Group), were also working on a special project for parent company VW. A project that would develop the new square-edged T3 Transporter for military contracts and specialist utility companies among others, with a four-wheel-drive layout featuring viscous coupling and vacuum operated diff locks with solenoids operated dashboard button.  These vehicles also received a strengthened chassis.

The Syncro didn’t use the same Quattro set-up as the Audi, but instead used a very similar mechanical layout to Ferguson Formula 4WD systems pioneered in the UK by Jensen in the late 1960s. Several prototypes were developed off bay window T2 models, with the Syncro ready to make its debut at the same time as the boxy T3 itself in 1978, the bodies built in Hannover at VW’s van factory and shipped to Austria to be kitted out with the AWD running gear by Steyr-Puch.

With a short wheelbase, lofty ride height and exceptional traction, the T3 Syncro was as good off-road as a Land Rover, which was used as the benchmark by the German military.
 
Aside from commercial applications, though, the Syncro was actively marketed as a leisure vehicle, the eight-seater ‘Vanawagon’ using the same seating layout as the Caravelle passenger model, but with distinctive twin headlamps and chunky tyres.

Just 2,108 were built in right hand drive.  Which makes this one very rare.  It was supplied new in South Africa in 1989, where it remained until earlier this year. The van was extensively overhauled by its previous owner over there, and had its original 2.1-litre engine replaced with the popular and sought-after 2.0-litre 1984cc 8v VW OHC engine as found in multiple generations of Golf and Passat, renowned for its simplicity and longevity. It’s supplied with a fully operation Syncro 4WD system and in great order throughout.

 

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