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From The Archives – August 2025 

Do you have a question about the history of our local club or the Porsche brand in Las Vegas? Drop me an email at jordan_godorov@yahoo.com 

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Why Does That Volkswagen Say “Porsche” On It? Some History Behind Porsche Renndienst Vehicles.

By: Jordan Godorov

Have you ever been to a car event that featured a Volkswagen with “Porsche” lettering on it? What’s that all about?

According to Richard Lindhorst, writing for Effersport Online – “In 1951, Porsche took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. Motorsport has been a central part of the Zuffenhausen company’s DNA ever since this entry of two Porsche 356/4 SL Coupés. From the mid-1950s onwards, the so-called “Renndienst”, which means racing service, was also always there to support both works and customer teams. A couple of now legendary Volkswagen Transporters were used as the backbone of the Porsche Renndienst, as the star in the shadows, so to speak. But what exactly were the tasks of the racing service? And what was the purpose of the Porsche Renndienst Bullis, as they are called today?”

“In 1954, the Zuffenhausen-based company brought a thoroughbred racing machine to Brescia in the form of the new Porsche 550 Spyder. Hans Hermann and Herbert Linge were to build on the successes of the premiere season in the newly developed car. And the duo threw everything they had at it.”

“But another vehicle was present at the 1000-mile rally for the first time: The Porsche Renndienst Bulli. It was a Volkswagen T1 Transporter, painted in an eye-catching dark red and labeled “PORSCHE RENNDIENST” on the outside. The Porsche Renndienst van immediately became the racing department’s faithful companion on trips to European circuits, hill climbs and rallies.”

“Over the years, the T1 vans were replaced by the Type 2 van. They were available as a flatbed, for example, which the Weissach engineers also liked to use for jokes and photos. Of course, there were also numerous other commercial vehicles in the Porsche Renndienst fleet. Car transports were initially carried out by MAN diesel trucks. A Setra coach was also converted in cooperation with BP.”

“Porsche, being very tradition-conscious, naturally likes to use the charming racing service transporters for advertising purposes. After all, the Bullis enjoy absolute cult status. Nowadays, however, they are rarely used to transport parts and are instead often used as food trucks. However, this also shows why Porsche chose the Bulli as a Renndienst vehicle in the first place. Its versatility was a real selling point. As a result, the VW Bus became the backbone of the Porsche racing department for a long time.”

Some examples of Renndienst vehicles below……

As seen at Buses by the Bridge 2025…….

Some more examples of Renndienst vehicles…..

This is my 1970 Volkswagen Transporter Porsche Renndienst tribute bus. It is based off of the 1972 Volkswagen Transporter used by Porsche factory teams back in the day.