The air-cooled volkswagen beetle engine was one of the greatest automotive achievements. It was designed by an engineer whose name was Ferdinand Porsche, who went on to build his own line of rear-engined sports cars. The prototype was built in the 1930′s and after the war established Volkswagen as an automotive powerhouse. The production of this wonder air cooled engine continued for over half a century.
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine was used to power many small homebuilt aircraft projects, the Corvair engine was also used in a few planes.
Other car makers using air-cooled engines were Lloyd in Germany and Panhard in France, both of which were mounted in front.
In the late 1950′s General motors designed the six-cylinder Chevy Corvair engine. Mounted in the rear of the Corvair, It did have some problems in the beginning, mainly oil leakage, but after the third or fourth year they had corrected it’s problems. maybe GM was right to stop making the Corvair, but why get rid of the engine after spending millions in development? Air cooled engines need no radiator and all that goes with it, which saves some weight, making the car more economical and needing less repairs. Maybe it’s time for a comeback.
