Żuk — body

FSC Żuk

Polish roads have seen many Żuks. In this case, however, we are not talking about the popular Volkswagen Beetle, but about the Polish "delivery van" - Żuk. The name covers an entire series of Polish delivery vehicles, produced by Fabryka Samochodów Ciężarowych (Commercial Vehicle Factory) in Lublin between 1959 and 1998. The Żuk was a favorite of farmers, served postmen from Poczta Polska (Polish Post), and sometimes even played the role of a fire truck. Like the iconic Maluch, the Żuk was an everyday hero for many Poles.

The T-shirt features a 1967 Żuk, a version with a wooden cargo bed, which gave it a payload capacity of 950 kg. Other variants of the Żuk were mainly used for transporting food products or clothing, but passenger models, i.e., minibuses, were also produced. In 1970, Żuks even began to be assembled in Egypt, and despite the obvious analogy, they were not called "Scarab," but Ramzes. The Egyptian ELTRAMCO factories assembled their Żuk-Ramzes until the 1990s, with many modifications introduced along the way.

The production of Żuk was halted in 1998, when the number of units released reached 587,818. And although in terms of numbers and sales it was far behind the "beetle" Garbus, it does not mean that it was not a car particularly serving the common man. Its sharply outlined rectangular silhouette and the sad expression of its front bumper became iconic, and will be remembered for many years by working Poles of the communist era.

The drawing is by Wrocław artist Paweł Grabowski.