VW Type 2 Microbus production ending with Kombi Last Edition
08-18-13, 01:09 PM
#1
VW Type 2 Microbus production ending with Kombi Last Edition
VW Type 2 Microbus production ending with Kombi Last Edition
Manufacture of the longest-produced model in the global automotive industry, the Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus, is finally coming to an end in Brazil after 56 years in production, which started in September 1957. The blue VW Kombi Last Edition you see here (click on the image above to enlarge) is one of 600 that will be produced before new safety regulations in the country force Volkswagen to phase it out.
The Last Edition will be sold only in Brazil for 85,000 Brazilian reais ($35,637) and comes with a certificate of authenticity from VW and a numbered plaque on the dashboard identifying it as one of 600. The Microbus originally came equipped with an air-cooled 1.2-liter flat-four mounted in the rear that made 28 horsepower, but by 2005 it was running with a 1.4-liter water-cooled engine. The new inline-four makes 78 hp on gasoline and 80 hp on pure ethanol and puts the power to the rear wheels – which are wrapped in whitewall tires – through a four-speed manual transmission. A 50+hp power bump sounds like fun to us!
Enhancing whatever road trips lie ahead is a specially equipped interior in blue and white vinyl, matching the unique two-tone exterior paint, and a modern MP3 sound system with USB inputs. Now, we love safety as much as the next bunch of auto enthusiasts, but we sure do wish such classically cool icons as this could somehow manage to stand the test of crash barriers as well as they can the test of time.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/18/v...-last-edition/
08-18-13, 07:59 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
I remember the Microbus well from the 1960s. Here in the U.S., though not entirely of one stereotype, it had a reputation as the vehicle of choice as a rolling mobile-home for the counterculture people...better known as "Hippies". Typically, the counter-culture ones would be decorated with pastel-colored paint patterns and flower/peace-symbols....and the interiors would have a combination of pot-smoke odor and that of occupants who rarely took a bath.
Mechanically, they were known for being quite carefully-built (as most German vehicles were back then), though chronically underpowered with the small, Beetle-sized, 50-60 HP flat-four air-cooled engine that was highly-stressed. The engine, in general, was reliable for about 60,000 mles...then needed some major work from the stress-level. Consumer Reports, I remember, tested one where they didn't even publish a 0-60 figure because the van itself could barely reach 60 MPH top-end. The barn-door aerodynamics and tail-heaviness blew them all over the road in a crosswind...you constantly had to fight the wheel to keep it in your lane. Another Achilles heel (like with all air-cooled VW products) was the cabin heater, which, in the winter, was just about worthless unless you drove it 100 miles to get any significant heat from the tepid air coming through. And, because the heater blew air across the exhaust shroud, the exhaust system had to be perfectly-sealed, with no small leaks, to keep exhaust-gas and carbon monoxide from coming into the cabin with the heat. With the steering wheel right up against the very front of the vehicle and the windshield, good luck in a crash....almot zero protection.
But, despite some poor designs on it, one cannot, by the standards of the times, fault the way these vehicles were built at the factory. They offered excellent fit/finish and Swiss-watch precision assembly at a time when many American-built vehicles were tossed together on the assembly line like pretzels.
Mechanically, they were known for being quite carefully-built (as most German vehicles were back then), though chronically underpowered with the small, Beetle-sized, 50-60 HP flat-four air-cooled engine that was highly-stressed. The engine, in general, was reliable for about 60,000 mles...then needed some major work from the stress-level. Consumer Reports, I remember, tested one where they didn't even publish a 0-60 figure because the van itself could barely reach 60 MPH top-end. The barn-door aerodynamics and tail-heaviness blew them all over the road in a crosswind...you constantly had to fight the wheel to keep it in your lane. Another Achilles heel (like with all air-cooled VW products) was the cabin heater, which, in the winter, was just about worthless unless you drove it 100 miles to get any significant heat from the tepid air coming through. And, because the heater blew air across the exhaust shroud, the exhaust system had to be perfectly-sealed, with no small leaks, to keep exhaust-gas and carbon monoxide from coming into the cabin with the heat. With the steering wheel right up against the very front of the vehicle and the windshield, good luck in a crash....almot zero protection.
But, despite some poor designs on it, one cannot, by the standards of the times, fault the way these vehicles were built at the factory. They offered excellent fit/finish and Swiss-watch precision assembly at a time when many American-built vehicles were tossed together on the assembly line like pretzels.
Last edited by mmarshall; 08-18-13 at 08:24 PM.
08-18-13, 10:07 PM
#7
^ The fun thing about those old VW vans is that you can now easily correct the 50hp moving a loaded 4000lb van problem. There are all kinds of hop-up parts for the VW air cooled motors that can easily triple the power those vans left the factory with, all while being reliable and having great street manners.
Only limit is the size of your wallet for hopping up that old flat four vw motor. Or if you have an endless supply of $$$$, I've seen one of those vans with a 911 Turbo motor in them. 600+hp of air cooled, twin turbo, flat six goodness, dude ran a 8 second quarter mile in his damn VW van at the drag strip.
Only limit is the size of your wallet for hopping up that old flat four vw motor. Or if you have an endless supply of $$$$, I've seen one of those vans with a 911 Turbo motor in them. 600+hp of air cooled, twin turbo, flat six goodness, dude ran a 8 second quarter mile in his damn VW van at the drag strip.
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