It's the end of the line for classic VW minivan
Engine spawned the 'People's Car'

Alan Clendenning
Associated Press
Dec. 22, 2005 12:00 AM

SAO PAULO, Brazil - With their unique air-cooled engines sputtering to life, brand-new classic Volkswagen minivans chug off the assembly line after a manufacturing ritual barely changed since hippies turned the boxy vehicle into a counterculture icon.

Instead of heading on long, strange trips across Latin America's largest country, these minivans go straight to work on the streets of Brazil's largest cities for deliveries of all kinds: as ambulances, mobile convenience stores and even transports for soldiers.

But this Friday, a long chapter in the history of Volkswagen AG ends when the last air-cooled motor will be hoisted into a vehicle seen as a museum piece almost everywhere else across the planet.




VW is being forced to change the minivan's historic rear-mounted engine because of a new Brazilian emissions law to reduce pollution that goes into effect in 2006. Production will continue next year, but the van known here as the "Kombi" will get a new water-cooled motor and a radiator for the first time.

The switch marks the last hurrah for the simple engine developed in the 1930s by famed German engineer Ferdinand Porsche, his key element of a "Volkswagen," or "People's Car," that anyone could afford.

"It's the end of a very long era," said Ivan McCutcheon, editor of Britain's VolksWorld magazine, for fans of the vans and now out-of-production VW traditional Beetles. "The VW air-cooled engine has been perhaps the greatest-produced engine in numbers the world has seen."

The move comes three years after Volkswagen's Mexican division stopped production of the minivan and churned out its last two-door Bug sedan with an air-cooled motor. All told, about 6 million of the minivans were built with the air-cooled engine worldwide, adding to the more than 20 million Beetles manufactured.

Volkswagen Brasil says Kombi production is actually expected to increase next year from about 10,000 minivans annually to 12,000 because the new engine can run on either gasoline or pure alcohol. Alcohol is widely used as fuel in Brazil, where it costs about half the price of gas.

The body of the minivan won't change, however, and Volkswagen's Sao Paulo factory will churn out Kombis in keeping with tradition, minus the high-tech robots that do most of the work in modern car factories.

The Kombi, by contrast, is made by workers who shove the windows into place by hand, use mallets to tap out imperfections in the vehicle's body and do a final quality check on the doors by slamming them shut while listening to make sure they sound right.

Volkswagen isn't concerned about losing market share with the new engine because executives believe the vehicle still has several advantages the competition can't match: a list price of about $15,400 and capacity to carry a metric ton of goods.

To mark the engine changeover, VW is churning out about 200 Kombi Silver Edition models for collectors. They are outfitted with the old engine but painted silver instead of the classic Brazilian white so owners can paint them with brightly colored logos advertising their businesses.

"I never thought about getting one before because I thought they'd be around forever," said Lucio Calixto, a photo services store owner who already has a 1994 Brazilian-made VW bug.

With his wife snapping pictures of him picking up the Silver Edition minivan at a VW dealership and receiving the keys from a manager, Calixto explained that he loves the engine because it's easy to work on, can be rebuilt cheaply and lasts for decades if cared for properly.

"Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated with it," Calixto said.

Unlike most Brazilian Kombi owners, Calixto will use the minivan for weekend outings, easily fitting his family of five into a vehicle that can take seven passengers.

Article in the local paper said they were building 200 Silver ones (aircooled) for collectors.......... had a picture of one being built.............

Sorry, no photo.....

John

it lived so long though...1930s....amazing. I love the aircooled engine.

b

QUOTE (bd1308 @ Dec 23 2005, 10:11 PM)

it lived so long though...1930s....amazing. I love the aircooled engine.

And we're all beneficiaries of that success and longevity, no matter how refined our Type IVs and 6's are...

Hoist (another) one to Dr. Porsche...

Skip

What type of engines are these vans still using? A variation on the T1 or T4?

Zach

QUOTE (Vacca Rabite @ Dec 23 2005, 09:16 PM)

What type of engines are these vans still using? A variation on the T1 or T4? Zach

I'm sure it's the same old type 4 that they used in the early vanagons...

And the shame of this is that not only can we not get this vehicle here, but we can't get Eurovans anymore either! These days VW has it's head up in a very dark hole in its posterior.

QUOTE (ThinAir914 @ Dec 24 2005, 12:27 PM)

And the shame of this is that not only can we not get this vehicle here, but we can't get Eurovans anymore either! These days VW has it's head up in a very dark hole in its posterior.

We can get the new Eurovans here. I see them all of the time around here (usually in Massachusetts though). I don't know if they still make manual Eurovans for the US market. A friend of mine's mom has an early 90s one with the war-club shifter

Sorry... Eurovans are officially known as a T4. Worldwide production ceased after the 2003 model year. VW has developed a T5, which is available in Europe (as well as Canada and Australia I think), but you can't get them in the U.S. The T5 camper is no longer a Westphalia, but is designed completely by VW and looks wonderful - if only we could get it here.

QUOTE (ThinAir914 @ Dec 24 2005, 12:37 PM)

Sorry... Eurovans are officially known as a T4. Worldwide production ceased after the 2003 model year. VW has developed a T5, which is available in Europe (as well as Canada and Australia I think), but you can't get them in the U.S. The T5 camper is no longer a Westphalia, but is designed completely by VW and looks wonderful - if only we could get it here.

gotcha

I have one. Its a real work horse...tough to get parts for it...some of the motor parts are audi, but mostly everything is dealer only...

Tires are very hard to find...only three manufacturers make them...they are 6 ply...it is a one ton.

I tow my car with it.

And I have tested the one ton rating many times...its for real...

I had a turbo diesel in germany...that was awesome, but I could not import it...I tried believe me...but the motor was not built nor tested for the US market...

I love mine...I hope that they will again sell it here, but it looks like they will not.

I have heard that they will be selling a smaller van, similar to a small ford van and one that they sell now in europe...

Rich

kinda sad to see production of the aircooled engine die...but it really wont happend for another 5 years or so. they will still make spares and complete engines for the multitude still on the road down there...

btw... according to my new G-Tech pro 22. my vanagon is faster than my 2.0l 914. 0-60 adn 1/4 mile....

might have sopmething to do with the wrx engine in the back...

What was the body style of the Brazillian air-cooled production model? Vanagon or one of the earlier models?

QUOTE

What was the body style of the Brazillian air-cooled production model? Vanagon or one of the earlier models?

It's the older style.

That was a picture of the ones converted to run the watercooled engine.

QUOTE (rhcb914 @ Dec 27 2005, 09:12 AM)

QUOTE What was the body style of the Brazillian air-cooled production model? Vanagon or one of the earlier models? It's the older style.

Okay, I guess that's the second series transporter. Is that what the VW guys call a bay window transporter?

On the Shop Talk Forums people indicate that the first series and the second series were okay weight-wise, but that the third series Vanagon weighed too much for the aircooled T4 to push.

The TIV would push it fine... Just the gearing sucked for such a heavy vehicle...

Whatever happened to the new microbus (retro styled) that VW was planning to build?

Did they nix the project?

I actually saw one of these in Flagstaff today! Very nice looking! White, just like the photos that were posted. I could not tell what the license was from my angle, but I'm guessing it must have been Mexico. I sure wish we could get them here.

QUOTE (tdgray @ Dec 27 2005, 02:47 PM)

Whatever happened to the new microbus (retro styled) that VW was planning to build? Did they nix the project?

Why go retro?

QUOTE (Mark Henry @ Dec 29 2005, 05:27 AM)

QUOTE (tdgray @ Dec 27 2005, 02:47 PM) Whatever happened to the new microbus (retro styled) that VW was planning to build? Did they nix the project? Why go retro?

Wow, that is sharp looking Mark!


Engine displacement?


John

P.S. I never knew they would run on maple syrup.

Thanks John

2007cc T1 Gene Berg engine that I built from a kit back in '91

I've done a bit of work since these pic's...need to take some updated ones.
See my blog for more pic's.

I hope have my dream cars all on the road this summer.
My '74 914, '67 bus and my '67 GTV bug.

Looks real nice Mark.

I would like to get one of those one day. Would love to have a 21 window or something equally strange / rare.

I did some research since the time I posted the question on the new bus.... NADA, NOTHING. All I can find is the old press releases when it came out at the Detroit auto show.

Too bad, I really liked the look.

I love the VW bus, haved owned one since about 93. Had to give up my 21 window project when I moved back to AK but I just picked up a Syncro (4wd) Vanagon converted to a pop top.

The 2.1L does seem a bit whimpy for pushing that big box but it will do until it dies and then the subby transplant will begin.

Sure would be cool to get a brand new bay window.

Here is the Kombi page

http://www.vw.com.br/automoveis/kombi/main.asp

I'm thinking this has potential as a baby boomer retirement vehicle.