Air Cooled Volkswagens
Air cooled Volkswagens
The air cooled VW family have been around since before the 2nd World War and the prototype pictured to the left was built in 1935/6. During the 2nd World War thousands of VW’s were produced in their various guises, all of them powered by the four cylinder boxer configuration air cooled engine. Note the absence of a rear window, this must have made driving quite exciting with no wing/door mirrors either!
The most famous and plentiful of the second world war vehicles was the Kubelwagen. Although a two wheel drive vehicle only it was effectively Hitlers ‘Willys Jeep’ and with the light body it performed admirably off road in all theatres of the war and, a myriad of different specialised versions were made.
A slide show is available for purchase showing a full detailed walk around of a rare beast seen at the 2007 Bad Camberg Show. It was fitted with the very bald desert sand tyres and it is in immaculate condition. Other Kubelwagen at the show are also featured.
Kubelwagen side profile.
The KDF Wagen, now very rare, was used as a Staff Car during the War and to this day looks like the classic Volkswagen we all know and love by the nickname of the Beetle.
The only Beetle to actually bear the name was the GT Beetle, a model available in England in 1973/3 in 3 colours being, apple green, lemon yellow and tomato red. Only 2,500 of these were imported to the UK. I have one of them, a tomato red variety with just 85,000 miles on the clock. I am the third owner and she has never been repair welded. [See G4USB’s VWs]
A KDF Wagen seen at Bad Camberg 2007
Below - A type 86, photo taken in October 1944
The most unusual VW wartime vehicle based around the 4 cylinder air cooled engine was the Schwimmwagen. Literal translation is swimming car so no surprise to learn that it is amphibious.
During their service life they had an average lifespan of a few weeks and although thousands were produced only a very few remain and if you are hoping to own one be prepared to pay over £30,000 for a really good example-ouch!
I would love to experience the sensation of driving off the river bank and into the water, lowering the propeller at the rear and driving off upstream, must be tremendous fun and a bit disconcerting at first.
There is a slide show available on the site to purchase featuring an excellent example that was on display at Bad Camberg. A full walk around with detailed high resolution photographs a brief history and a good number of active links so that the purchaser can click on them in Acrobat and see some movies of them in the water environment they were designed to use.
They are even to this date the most prolific and arguably the most successful amphibious vehicle the world has ever known.
It is interesting to note that the front wheels provide the directional rudder control whilst in the water and of course on dry land.
Below is a Schwimmwagen that lives in England seen at the 2006 Volksworld Show
Above: A type 166 prototype being examined by Hitler,Himmler,Wolff and others
As a result of Ferdinand Porsche being tasked by Adolph Hitler to design what would become a peoples car (Volkswagen) the prototypes began to take shape and began to resemble the Classic Beetle shape we all know so well.
Below are some pictures also taken at the 2007 Bad Camberg show in Germany of two of the reproduction prototypes that were in attendance having been brought from the Wolfsburg factory. Both were drawing good crowds and their immaculate deep shine was wonderful to see.
The Blue Car
The Porsche Vereuchsserie "Typ 60 - V3" from 1935/36 had an air cooled 4 cylinder Boxer motor of 985cc that produced 23.4ps @ 3000 rpm.
The Red Car
The Porsche Vereuchsseriwe "Typ E60 V30" of 1937 used the same 985cc air cooled engine and weighed in at 600kg being capable of reaching 100kmh.
You will no doubt have noticed an absence of a rear window in either model and without the aid of exterior mirrors either must have been a night,mare to drive.
During the war years production concentrated on the military versions of the vehicles and following the intervention of the British Army the factory was resurrected at the end of the war and commenced production if civilian based models. Had this British intervention not taken place history may have been quite different and the Type1, Kaffir/Beetle may not have become the motoring icon it is today.
The Type 1 Volkswagen continued in production with 1200, 1300, 1500 & 1600 4 cylinder air cooled engines from 1938 until major production ceased in Mexico in 2003. It is interesting to note that it was 1967 before VW began to refer to Beetle & Bug in Their literature and it was 1972/3 before a model was actually badged a Beetle and this was the GT Beetle [see mine pictured in the my cars page] The last versions still had the very recognisable ‘Beetle’ shape and 4 cylinder air cooled engines but were embellished with modern niceties such as fuel injection and power disk brakes.
Below are a selection of aircooled cars from wartime to post war modern in various guises.
Below a Kastenwagen, photo taken May 1941
Above : A Pritchenwagen, type 825
Above: Ben Lewis’s 1950’s modified Oval - A Cornish owned car, a credit to Ben
Above: A once popular tuning method, A Judson Supercharger
Above: standard single carburettor 4 cylinder air cooled
Above : In full racing trim - note large twin choke Webers probably 48IDF
Above : In contrast a 1953 standard Beetle engine bay
Above: A Hebmuller Cabriolet -what a beautiful car
Below: A Porsche Enzmann 506 - 1600cc, 95ps from 1958
second picture shows the 4 cylinder air cooled engine
Above: A German registered 1954 ‘Standard Beetle’
Above: Barclay’s 1954 from the North of England
Above : Nice terracotta example
Above: a 1958 Karmann Ghia - 4 cylinder air cooled engine
Above: another rather nice Ghia
Above : A Karmann Ghia Razoredge
Above: A coach built VW by Dannenhauer-Strauss in 1952/53. Styling cues from the Porsche 356 are obvious. There were 4 of these at Bad Camberg 2007
Above: A second generation Rometsch convertible
Above: A VW based coachbuilkt Rometsch Beeskow. Also known as the ‘banana’
Above and below — Bad Camberg line ups
Above: Tony’s 1964 Beetle Cabriolet, another car from sunny Cornwall seen here at the 2006 Volksworld Show at Sandown Park as part of the Cornwall VW Owners Club display
Above: Type 3 Notchback at the 2006 Volksworld Show
Above: Another Car from Cornwall! Sean Rees’s 1954 Oval
Above : A 1972 Type3 fastback
Above and below a 412LE at Cornwall Jamboree in 2008, quite a rarity these days
Above : A 1972 custom Beetle from Plymouth in Devon
Above: Another Cornish Car this time Mike’s Beetle Limousine — available for hire!
Above: Another late Cornish wedding hire car
Above: A Rail styled Buggy with the ubiquitous 4 cylinder air cooled engine of course
Above: An English masterpiece a truly Hot Bug, drag strip heaven!
Aabove: pictured at the 2006 CVWOC Jamboree this modern VW Trike, engine at front and single rear wheel
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