Volkswagen Iltis

The Volkswagen Type 183, more commonly known as the Iltis , is a military vehicle built by Volkswagen for use by the German military. The Iltis was formerly built under licence in Canada by Bombardier Inc.
Although the two vehicles were briefly offered simultaneously, the Type 183 effectively replaced the Type 181.
The German military had been part of a cooperative effort, beginning in the late 1960s, to create what was dubbed the "Europa Jeep", an amphibious four wheel drive vehicle that could replace the small all-terrain transport vehicles being used by several of the participating governments. With development taking longer than expected, the German military requested for something inexpensive to be built in small quantities to fill their need for additional small transport vehicles while the Europa Jeep project was still undergoing design research. Volkswagen responded to the request, designing an updated version of their Kübelwagen and designating it the Type 181. But by 1979, the Europa Jeep project had fallen apart completely, the victim of skyrocketing costs and difficult development. Needing a suitable four-wheel drive vehicle to take over the spots that had been designated for the Europa Jeep, the German government issued requests to several manufacturers to design and build prototype vehicles to be considered for military use....