Ladies and gentlemen, we have entered the era of the £65k Volkswagen van. Yes, for the same money as a flagship Land Rover Discovery, a medium/well kitted Porsche Cayman or a surprisingly decent Winnebago you too could be the proud owner of a diesel van with less than 200bhp that shares no more road space than a BMW 5 Series Touring.

Trouble is, this is the VW California we’re talking about, the campervan that’s not beige and that is socially acceptable to talk about/be seen in. It’s now 30 years old, so VW is churning out 999 of these special editions to cash in (they say celebrate, but we know the truth).

Of course, the VW camper is more than 30 years old, but it was only in 1988 that it got the name and VW’s links with Westfalia (who had been converting VW vans into campers since the 1950s) solidified. Since then 157,000 have been sold globally.

This celebrates that, by taking a standard ‘Ocean’ spec Cali and loading it up with options: LED lights, contrast roof and wing mirrors (in Reflex Silver or Iridium Grey), Discover Pro infotainment, front and rear parking sensors, side scan, cruise control and heated front seats. Which doesn’t actually sound that much, come to think of it. You do get a numbered plaque, though. And a removable towbar. Not to be used for towing a caravan, because that would be horribly conflicting.

Just 30 are coming to the UK. The DSG twin clutch gearbox is standard, and prices start at £64,307 for the 148bhp single turbo, rising to £70,629 for the 196bhp twin turbo 4Motion.