Volkswagen
Passenger Cars is a German
manufacturer of automobiles, based in
Wolfsburg, Germany. It forms the major
component (in volume of sales) of the
much larger Volkswagen Group, which
as of July 30, 2007 is the world's third
largest car producer after Toyota and
General Motors respectively.
Volkswagen means "people's car"
in German (or, more literally, folk
wagon), in which it is pronounced
[f?lksva?g?n].
Starting from 1930, in 1933 from the
Adolf Hitler [ruler of Germany from
1933 to 1945 ] asked Ferdinand Porsche
to make suited design car for the
working man and in the 1938 VW Käfer
or Volkswagen Beetle took place. This
economy car also known as Volkswagen
Type 1 or as the |
| 1100,
1200, 1300, 1500, or 1600 which had
been the names under which the vehicle
was marketed in Europe .This Beetle
was structured upon the Volkswagen
air cooled engine which have
been used for other purposes as well.
Especially interesting is its use as
an experimental aircraft engine. The
Volkswagen air cooled engine
is one of the most widely used and versatile
internal combustion engines in the world.
Variations of this engine were produced
by Volkswagen plants around the world
from 1936 until 2006. |
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During this long run of Beetle-
A Volkswagen Type 1 car (1945
– 1953 ) The Volkswagen
Type 2 (also known as Transporter)
was the second automotive line introduced
in 1950 by Volkswagen - German automaker.
It was a van introduced in 1950, initially
based on Volkswagen's Type 1
car model or Beetle
This Type 2 is the forerunner of modern
cargo and passenger vans . |
| In 1968,
the second generation of the Type 2
was introduced. It was built in Germany
until 1979, with production shifting
to Mexico in 1980. The Brazilian VW
plant has produced the Kombi since the
50s until today. Models before 1971
are often called the T2a, while models
after 1972 are called the T2b. Like
the Beetle, the first Transporters used
the Volkswagen air cooled engine, an
1131 cc, 25 hp (19 kW), air-cooled four-cylinder
boxer engine mounted in the rear. The
36 hp (27 kW) version (also 1192 cc
with a higher compression ratio) became
standard in 1955 while an unusual early
version of the 40 hp (30 kW) engine
debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in
1959. |
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The early versions of the T1 until 1955
were often called the T1a or "Barndoor".The
Type 2 Models before 1971 are often
called the T2a, while models after 1972
are called the T2b. This second-generation
Type 2 lost its distinctive split front
windshield, and was slightly larger
and considerably heavier than its predecessor.
Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and
Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short.
The T2c, so called since it got a slightly raised roof - by about 10 cm - in the early 1990s, was built for the South American and Central American markets. The T2c was produced in Mexico until 1991 with the 1.6 L air-cooled Type 1 engine, and from 1991 until 1996 with water-cooled engines from the VW Golf (a VW/Audi 1.4L I4).
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Since 1997, the T2c
has been built in Brazil with air-cooled
engines for the Brazilian market and
with water-cooled engines for the
Mexican market, the latter easily
identified by their large, black-coloured,
front-mounted radiators. Since production
of the original Beetle was halted
in late 2003 as a 2004 model, the
T2 remained the only Volkswagen model
with the traditional air-cooled, rear-mounted
boxer engine when the Brazilian model
shifted to water-cooled on December
23, 2005. Previously, the water-cooled
T2c was sold in Mexico between 1997
and 2002. |
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There
was also a water-cooled Diesel version
of the T2, which was manufactured
from 1981 to 1985 in Brazil. The shift
to water-cooled engines is in response
to Brazil's emission laws which go
into effect for 2006 and beyond. The
new water-cooled engine will run on
petrol as well as alcohol, which costs
about 50% less than ordinary fuel
in Brazil. |
Standard Parts for Classic Beetle &
Bus |
Performance & Styling for Classic
Beetle and Bus |
Engines for Classic Beetle & Bus
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