Aircooled engines proved to be arguably the most versatile and widely used internal combustion engines in the entire world. Many variations of this type of engine were produced by Volkswagen plants around the globe from the mid 1930s all the way to the year 2006.
Volkswagen introduced this type of engine with the launch of the VW bus and the original Volkswagen model, the Beetle. The road was anything but easy though to perfect this engine and develop the right VW aircooled parts to make this engine run flawlessly. Originally, the engineers at Volkswagen tried to create a version with a 40 horsepower, but unfortunately, this attempt was recalled until they could design a more updated version of it. It was interesting because all of the Type One Volkswagen Beetles and buses debuted with a 36 horsepower version, but a few years later, they attempted the 40 horsepower on the Type Twos.
Since this version was recalled in 1959, there are absolutely no VW aircooled parts that were ever manufactured that could replace this type of engine. So, anyone who purchased this Type and Model found that when the engine died, it was dead for good. Although people who made this purchase were allowed to turn it back in as a submission to the recall, many did not for the thought that they would have a collectors item that so few others would have too.
Many versions of this engine type were developed throughout the next ten years and many of them were specifically designed with a Volkswagen model in mind. The Type Four engine from Volkswagen was the one that really changed the way the aircooled engines were used. This was when they designed a fuel injected version and although Volkswagen was not the first company to do this, they were certainly the first ones to market this fuel injected engine to large audiences because they mass produced them.
The Volkswagen Beetle was probably the model that the company experimented most with the VW aircooled parts. Since this was their flagship automobile they experimented with it the most. The Beetle engine was even used as an experimental engine for aircrafts. It is crazy because engineers still continue to use some variations of this engine today throughout the aircraft industry. The functions of these interchangeable VW aircooled parts are endless; they have been used to power ski lifts, jackhammers and even some types of air compressors. The amazing thing about these engines still being in circulation today is that bring an element of history to the car industry that would otherwise not be present.
