Memories of the heyday of the Westfalia camper vans
It was the heyday of the camping expert Westfalia from Rheda-Wiedenbrück in Germany when the James Cook appeared on the Mercedes-Benz Transporter T1 chassis. The name James Cook, which comes from the famous seafarer of the 18th century, was to become a synonym for a legendary delivery truck conversion – the camper van era had created new demands. This large model was developed in 1977 by Westfalia on a Mercedes-Benz chassis. It was the first camper van to combine a wet room and a hard roof extension. Powered by its good reputation, the James Cook was to pave the way for a new generation of modern transporters. The first James Cook was built onto the new Mercedes-Benz series TN/T1 by Westfalia in 1977. For this, in 1976 the Westfalia design office developed the first drawings of a transporter with a raised roof and a revolutionary layout. For Westfalia this was a real turning point, because after years of the legendary collaboration with Volkswagen and its famous camper vans on T1 and T2 chassis, the company turned to Mercedes-Benz for the first time. The James Cook created a new generation of camper vans providing comfort and safety. At first glance, it was characterised by its raised roof which reached a height of 3.10 m and provided an internal accessible height of 2.20 m. With its family-friendly habitability, the James Cook (length 5.24 m) became the favourite companion of frequent travellers.
Year manufacture – 1977-95
