The Volkswagen Bus (Microbus, Kombi, or Transporter as it’s known around the world) has been a cult classic, with a huge following around the world to this day. Every time I see one, I think of hippies sitting in a grass field playing their guitars with the VW Bus parked in the background.
As cool looking as the VW Bus is, it sure does have a very weak engine and therefore it has been the focus of some car tuners, giving it big engines. This time a VW Bus was tuned by Fred Bernhard, a Swiss coachbuilder, to be showcased at Wörthersee GTI meet in Austria. It took Fred six years to complete the project to perfection.
The custom built VW T1 Bus has been given a thorough overhaul, it looks very modern from the outside yet retaining its classic looks. The van rides on some meaty looking tires because it needs all the grip it can get because of what’s in the back.
The van is powered by a twin-turbo air cooled six cylinder engine from a Porsche 993, sending power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox from a Porsche 996 GT3. The engine produces 523 horsepower and 558 pound-feet of torque, while the van weighs 3,307 pounds. This should make for some fast trips to the local music fest or those runs to the “incense” shops.
