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This is the Volkswagen T3 Transporter, better known in Hot Wheels parlance as the Sunagon. The second generation of the famed VW Bus and the third of the Transporter, the T3 was marketed under various nameplates worldwide. Featuring a whole slew of engines, the T3 originally used air-cooled engines before switching to water-cooled ones. Larger, heavier and more angular than the T2 it replaced, the T3 was known as the Vanagon in the United States, which is where this casting partly got its name. Production started in 1979 and continued until 1991, but continued until 2002 in South Africa.
Now, about the casting. Designed by Larry Wood, the Sunagon is basically Hot Wheels's take on a Westfalia-styled Vanagon with a bike on the rear. The "pop-out top" can be slid out, revealing bench seats, a table and other standard campervan fare. Originally released in 1982, the Sunagon saw six releases and was last seen in 1987.
The casting was retooled in 2011 for the Hot Ones lineup that year; this version has also seen six releases, with the last being a 2020 Mail-in release.
