VW 3.600 L (Type 3): The mugger.

1.
At the starting point: A journalist and his crazy idea.

On his instagram account, the renowned journalist Alexander Bloch says about himself, that he is an automotive nerd, engineer and explainer, tester and moderator at the VOX tv show named „auto mobil“ as well as a chief reporter for the trade magazine at auto motor und sport. He’s full of ideas by profession – and this is especially true when it comes to creative Volkswagen cars with some Porsche-DNA: air-cooled, of course, that’s almost clear without even saying it. For some time now, Bloch had been pursuing this idea for his tv show at VOX „auto mobil“: a Volkswagen 1.600 L – a Type 3, often enough characterized as the „Volkswagen Beetle for advanced drivers” – to be realized and then raffled off among the spectators. In the notchback-model with a slightly hanging rear section, according to Bloch’s vision, a 3.6 litre Porsche engine with more than 300 HP should do its job – knowing too well, that the upright citizen from the sixties was never really designed for this purpose. An expert, a true connaisseur of the subject, was needed. But where was he to be found? The Volkswagen Type 3 Club had an answer on hand. It referred to one of its active members, the journalist Thorsten Elbrigmann. After an initial contact was made among colleagues, the name of Christian Wilms soon came up. The owner of dtw Germany | das triebwerk in Schwelm and Elbrigmann had known each other for many years. They had been hanging out with the „Straßenräubers” (aka mugglers) at countless events – the best prerequisites to start an extraordinary project. Theoretically, at least.

2.
From theory to practice: A cool powerhouse emerges.

As far as more serious Type 3 conversions to be listed, Christian Wilms actually had a repertoire of – cautiously estimated – 18 similarly demanding projects to point to. And so the spectrum ranged from turbo performance enhancements with a quarter-mile background to exactly the technology and performance the editors envisioned. After a visit to dtw germany | das triebwerk, the decision was made: “This thing has to work out!” Alexander Bloch was, of course, the instigator at the first shooting with the production team from VOX „auto mobil“ in Schwelm to accompany the stocktaking. The first task was to find the right base for the entire conversion. No one suspected at this early stage that Walter Röhrl, who together with Stephan Rohleder, the second owner of dtw germany | das triebwerk, had already been competing in rallies, would test the result someday on the racetrack. Christian Wilms states: „When we think back on it today, we realize what kind of madness we put ourselves in. What we didn’t quite realize at first were all the technical hurdles that we would have to overcome, to actually be able to install a six-cylinder boxer engine.” Massive interventions in the bodywork were necessary. The revision of the air-cooled Porsche engine was the smallest problem. The consequence: numerous night shifts. The pure construction time was nine months – or 1,200 to 1,300 working hours, which were rich in insights and experiences.

7.

The interior: stylish, puristic – a rolling concert hall.

The interior was to be stylish and puristic at the same time. With this goal in mind, Alexander Bloch went to Recaro to procure sports seats in a classic design. Dzezmin Aliti was in charge for the upholstery work – he had already cooperated with the VOX editorial team several times in the past. The cooperation with the master craftsman from Cologne went smoothly at all times. He delivered highest quality work at the highest speed – everything really had to be perfectly coordinated in order to meet the tight deadline. For a blistering sound within the vehicle, Michael Zeitler from „Dr. Boom” in Cologne made his way to Schwelm. The VOX editorial team was thrilled to learn that an absolutely invisible sound system was planned – and it would transform the car’s interior into a rolling concert hall. At this point, it should be noted that the music system in the project Volkswagen 3.600 L is indeed a „hammer”. For Christian Wilms, true euphony always comes from the rear, as he understands it – but he also has to admit that „Dr. Boom” conjured up a veritable firecracker. His conclusion: „You have got the feeling in our tiny highwayman, that you’re sitting in a true nine-eleven – quite different from the Volkswagen Beetle, for example, despite all the technical parallels. I guess it really is as the experts tend to say – the Volkswagen 1.600 L is the Beetle for advanced drivers – and this Volkswagen 3.600 L even more so!“

And then there also has been …

… a two-time world rally champion.

Walter Röhrl, who achieved title honors back in 1980 as well as in 1982, is not only a friend of dtw germany | das triebwerk. He made extensive use of the opportunity to test drive the unusual Project Volkswagen Type 3. According to reports, the tall Bavarian from Sankt Englmar was very impressed, especially by the directness of all the dynamic reactions.

Possible summary: Röhrl. Approved. Once again.