Bombardier ILTIS

[Marc Montgomery]

Just wondering about the numbers of preserved/licensed Iltis are left in Canada

There were only a couple thousand made to begin with...a very small production run by vehicle standards. Although many parts are taken from VW AUDI car models, many other parts are Iltis specific. The vinyl roof for example is already rare, and likely to be a big restoration issue in the near future.

Because of the tiny numbers, it is almost certain that no reproduction companies will make parts-a la MB-GPW for example.

Of the original number...many were wrecked in theatre- the Iltis graveyard in Afghanistan for example (Convoy Mag #27) shows at the very least several dozen wrecks. Of course others would have been wrecked or left behind in Bosnia-Rwanda and elsewhere

Then of course many would have been wrecked in Canada.. Im guessing an attrition rate of about 50% by the time of release..

So about 1000 released across Canada? Of that number, a couple hundred at least would be suitable for parts only..say 700 serviceable vehicles (???) of that number, about half would have been picked up by collectors.. The rest bought for rough treatment by offroaders and unlikely to be preserved. or even survive long. Youtube images will likely attract other offroaders to purchase preservable Iltis when they come up for sale...thereby losing a portion of remaining restorable vehicles

All in all, Im guessing (total guess) about 300 or so Iltis preserved-restored and licensed across Canada..

Any thoughts on this (completely arbitrary) guesstimate?