TheVolkswagen air-cooled engine is anair-cooled,gasoline-fuelled,boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-ironcylinders, cast aluminum alloycylinder heads andpistons,magnesium-alloycrankcase, and forged steelcrankshaft andconnecting rods.

There are two distinct families/variations of the aircooled engine, namely Type 1 and Type 4. The Type 3 engine is a variation of the Type 1 engine with a pancake cooling arrangement.

Variations of the engine were produced byVolkswagen plants worldwide from 1936 until 2006 for use in Volkswagen's own vehicles, notably theType 1 (Beetle),Type 2 (transporter),Type 3, andType 4. Additionally, the engines were widely used in industrial, light aircraft and kit car applications.

The Type 1 engine got its name from theType 1 Beetle it originally came with. It evolved from the original 985 cc in the KdF wagen in 1939 to the 1600 cc dual port fuel-injected engine that came in the 2003 Mexican Beetle. The very last Type 1 engine came in the 2006Type 2c built in Brazil. In most applications, the Type 1 engine came with an upright cooling shroud and a belt driven fan.

When equipped with crank mounted cooling fan, the Type 1 engine may be referred asType 3 engine. These engines came only in 1500 cc and 1600 cc configurations inVolkswagen Type 3 based vehicles. The Type 1 engine was also used inType 2 vehicles with additional engine mounting provisions. The term "universal engine case" refers to an engine case that can be used for all three applications. All Type 1 engines used lighter magnesium alloy for the engine case even though late model engines used stronger alloys for durability. The bore spacing on Type 1 engine is 112 mm.

A re-design of the Type 1 engine was introduced in 1968 in theVolkswagen Type 4. It came to be known as theType 4 engine. It was larger and more powerful and shared almost nothing with the Type 1 engine other than the general architecture of the longblock.

• 1938–1942^[1][2]KdF-Wagen
• 1941–1942Volkswagen Kübelwagen

Volkswagen 1100 engine
Cutaway 1945 1131 cc engine
Overview
Also called	1100 engine
Production	1945–1953
Layout
Displacement	1,131 cc (69.0 cu in)
Cylinder bore	75 mm (2.95 in)
Piston stroke	64 mm (2.52 in)
Compression ratio	5.8:1
Output
Power output	18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp) at 3,300 rpm, 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp)
Specific power	15.9 kW (22 PS; 21 bhp) / L (18kW variant)
Torque output	68 N⋅m (50 lbf⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm

Like theVolkswagen Beetle produced after the war, the firstVolkswagen Transporters (bus) used the Volkswagen air-cooled engine, a 1.1 litre,DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS, 24 bhp), air-cooled four-cylinder"boxer" engine mounted in therear. The 22-kilowatt (29 PS; 29 bhp) version became standard in 1955, while an unusual early version of the engine which developed 25 kilowatts (34 PS; 34 bhp) debuted exclusively on theVolkswagen Type 2 (T1) in 1959.

• 1942–1944Volkswagen Schwimmwagen
• 1942–1945Volkswagen Kübelwagen,Volkswagen KdF-Wagen
• 1945–1953Volkswagen Beetle
• 1950–1953Volkswagen Type 2

Volkswagen Typ 1200[3]
Overview
Also called	1200 Engine
Production	1950–1991
Layout
Displacement	1,192 cc (72.7 cu in)
Cylinder bore	77 mm (3.03 in)
Piston stroke	64 mm (2.52 in)
Compression ratio	7.0:1 – 7.3:1
Combustion
Fuel system	Carburettor Solex 28 PCI or Solex 28 PICT
Fuel type	Carburettor fuel 86 RON (7:1 compression ratio) 87 RON (7,3:1 compression ratio)
Output
Power output	22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) 25 kW (34 PS; 34 bhp) 27 kW (37 PS; 36 bhp) 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp)
Specific power	18.5–21.0 kW (25–29 PS; 25–28 bhp) / L
Torque output	depending on engine application, around ~70–80 N·m

The 1.2-litre engine is calledType 122 and has a displacement of 1,192 cc (72.7 cu in).^[3] As industrial engine, its rated power is 22.8 kW (31 PS; 31 bhp) at 3000 min⁻¹ without agovernor, the highest torque 81.4 N⋅m (60 lbf⋅ft) at 2000 min⁻¹. With a governor set to 8% accuracy, the rated power is 21.33 kW (29 bhp; 29 PS) at 3000 min⁻¹, the highest torque is 69.63 N⋅m (51 lbf⋅ft) at 2000 min⁻¹.^[4] For other applications, the power and torque output may vary, e.g. On the Beetle produced 41 PS (40 bhp; 30 kW) at 3900 rpm and 88 N⋅m (65 lbf⋅ft) of torque at 2400 rpm.^[5]

1285 cc Single port 1966, type 1, beetle only.With Higher compression, it developed 50 bhp. It was a problematic engine, and so only used in the North American market in type 2 vehicles for model year 1966.

• 1966Volkswagen Beetle (Europe, North America)
• 1966-70Volkswagen Beetle (Europe, Non-USA)
• 1966Type 2 (North America)
• 1971-73Type 2 (Non USA) AB Engine code
• 1971-72 Non USA Low octane markets AC Engine code

From 1968 to 1983, the Type 4 engine was produced in 1.7, 1.8 and 2.0 litre variants.^[6]

Beginning in 1987, Dunn-Right Incorporated of Anderson, South Carolina, US has made a kit to perform the conversion of a VW engine to a compressor.^[7]

Volkswagen AG has offered these air-cooled boxer engines for use inindustrial applications since 1950, lately under itsVolkswagen Industrial Motor brand. Available in 18kilowatts (24 PS; 24 bhp), 22 kilowatts (30 PS; 30 bhp), 25 kilowatts (34 PS; 34 bhp), 31 kilowatts (42 PS; 42 bhp), 33 kilowatts (45 PS; 44 bhp) and 46 kilowatts (63 PS; 62 bhp) outputs, from displacements of 1.2 litres (73 cu in) to 1.8 litres (110 cu in), these Industrial air-cooled engines were officially discontinued in 1991.^{[citation needed]}

The air-cooled opposed four-cylinder Beetle engines have been used for other purposes as well.Limbach Flugmotoren has since 1970 produced more than 6,000 aircraft engines based on the Beetle engine.^{[8][9][10][11]} Sauer has since 1987 produced certified engines for small airplanes and motorgliders,^[12] and is now also producing engines for the ultralight community in Europe.^[13][14]

This type of VW engine deployment started separately in Europe and in the US. In Europe this started in France soon after theSecond World War using the engine in theVolkswagen Kübelwagen that were abandoned by the thousands in the country side^[15] and peaked with the JPX engine.^[16] In the US this started in the 1960s when VW Beetle started to be imported.^[15] A number of companies still produceaero engines that are Volkswagen Beetle engine derivatives: Limbach, Sauer, Hapi, Revmaster,Great Plains Type 1 Front Drive, Hummel, theAeroConversions AeroVee Engine, and others.Kit planes or plans built experimental aircraft were specifically designed to utilize these engines. The VW air-cooled engine does not require an expensive and often complex gear reduction unit to utilize a propeller at efficient cruise RPM^{[clarification needed]}. With its relative low cost and parts availability, many experimental aircraft are designed around the VW engines.^[17][18]

Formula V Air Racing uses aircraft designed to get maximum performance out of a VW powered aircraft resulting in race speeds above 160 mph.^[19]

Some aircraft that use the VW engine are:

For aircraft use, a number of experimenters, who were seeking a small, two-cylinder, four-stroke engine, began cutting Type 1 VW engine blocks in half, creating a two-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine. The resulting engine produces 30 to 38 hp (22 to 28 kW). Plans and kits have been made available for these conversions.^[20][21]

One such conversion is theCarr Twin, designed by Dave Carr, introduced in January 1975, in theExperimental Aircraft Association'sSport Aviation magazine. The design won the John Livingston Award for its outstanding contribution to low cost flying and also was awarded the Stan Dzik Memorial Award for outstanding design.^[21]

Other examples include theTotal Engine Concepts MM CB-40 andBetter Half VW.

Some aircraft that use the Half VW engine are:

• Volkswagen Group engines
• Boxer engines
• Lists of automobile engines
• 1930s aircraft piston engines

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