Deluxe

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Anonymous

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Deluxe baywindows were virtually unheard of in the UK until the recent boom in imported vehicles. Now they are increasingly common, hardly surprising given they add an extra level of bling to your standard baywindow.

So what is a deluxe baywindow? Deluxe baywindows were a factory option from VW. The deluxe moniker marks out that the bus originally came with a higher level of trim than the standard baywindow. However because you could add on as many or as few features as you wanted, there are few common features on deluxes. That said, most early bay deluxes do come with chrome beltline trim,
and would have been originally fitted with chrome beading in the window rubbers. The most desirable deluxe add on, and definitely the most practical, is a sliding sunroof.

Other additional deluxe features can include:
- Chrome and rubber bumper trim or bumper overiders (originally the same pattern as splitscreen bumper trim, in 1972 a squarer profile was introduced)
- Chrome trim surrounding the front panel air vent.
- Deluxe rear view mirror with modern (for the time!) dip/dazzle feature
- Chrome trim round the rear lights
- Chrome window wiper arms
- Chrome windscreen jets
- No doubt plus many more….

Because of additions and removal of various deluxe features it can be difficult to tell whether your van is a genuine deluxe or not. For the definitive answer you need to check your m-code, although recently a number of US vans have been imported that do not have the '24' code model number !

VW were clearly proud of their top of the range baywindow model, as it was the deluxe that they used in the first baywindow advert that introduced the change from the splitscreen. You can certainly see why. Few (on this site) would argue that the earlybay isn't an attractive vehicle, but the addition of some chrome highlights gives a deluxe earlybay more stylish features than the antiquated splitscreen it replaced.

Interestingly VW initially marketed the deluxe baywindow with it's own brand, the 'Clipper'. This was a shortlived marketing venture, as the brand Clipper was already in use for Laker Air's transatlantic flights. Following a legal intervention VW dropped the Clipper branding, reverting to using the deluxe moniker.

Late baywindows also came in deluxe models, the prime difference being the siting of the trim. For some bizarre reason, instead of chrome beltline trim, late baywindows have narrow chrome and rubber trim part way down the side panels. Safe to say it doesn't have the same visual imact.

Now that deluxes are more common in the UK, an informal club of deluxe owners has got together to put on occasional line ups at shows around the UK. Any and all owners of deluxe earlybays are welcome to join. Its simply a case of turning up at a show and parking up alongside the rest.


For more details, contact Baron via the forum.
 
Hi there,

It's very easy to spot a real deluxe type 24 Clipper L, just by a quick glance inside. You just have to know what to look for. You don't really need to check the M plate... :D

If i may add a precision to EarlyBay's post, Clipper was the name given by the germans to the first early bay microbuses type 22. Clipper "L", was for the type 24 microbuses (deluxe). Kombi (Kombinationwagen), was the type 23. A commercial/transporter vehicle that had middle and rear seats as an option...to become a microbus :roll: !
1969 was the last year the term "Clipper" was used officially in VW brochures...for the reason that EarlyBay mentioned above.
One can always add deluxe stuff on type 22 american "deluxes" (bumper trims, jail bars, dash clock, etc) but it will be difficult, for example, to reproduce the bi-coloured seats upholstery pattern or find the "clipper L" only middle seat ashtray; http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668246&highlight=deluxe

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