After ending production of the Kombi van with air-cooled engine in Brazil last month, VW do Brasil has updated the ‘old’ (i.e. second generation ‘Type 2’) model with a new water-cooled engine.
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The in-line four-cylinder 1.4-litre unit is essentially the same as fitted to the locally-produced Fox compact car for export to Europe, but has a Magneti Marelli flexfuel system. Power output varies from 78hp on petrol to 80hp on alcohol.
The Kombi’s engine change is a historic milestone: it marks the worldwide end of production of Volkswagen vehicles with air-cooled engines and occurred because, from this year, all vehicles sold in the country must meet the new Proconve 5 emission standard (based on the EU’s Euro 3 rules).
To install the new engine, the automaker needed to make a number of changes to the Brazilian-made Kombi, including finding room for a radiator in the front of the van, a solution that engineers had previously developed for an export version that was assembled in Mexico – home to the last air-cooled VW cars – until 2003.
A new hatch in the load area floor allows service access to the top of the engine. The latest van also has a ‘drive-by-wire’ accelerator instead of a cable liinkage.
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By GlobalDataThe dashboard has been updated with a new instrument panel, similar to the design used in the Fox.
Volkswagen expects the update to boost Kombi sales.
“We [sold] about 12,000 units of the Kombi in 2005 and expect to sell 15,000 this year”, said Volkswagen do Brasil sales and marketing director Paulo Kakinoff.
Volkswagen Brazil sells the Kombi in one cargo and three passenger versions, seating 9, 12 or 15 people.
The Kombi van – in original Type 1 form – has been made in Brazil since 1957. It was the first VW produced in the Anchieta plant, in São Bernardo do Campo city, São Paulo state, the automaker’s first factory here.
And it is still being made there 49 years later.
Rogério Louro
