Swiss coachbuilder Fred Bernhard has built one of the most spectacular vehicles which will debut at this week’s Wörthersee GTI Meeting. He took a rusted 1962 VW Bus T1 and dedicated six years of his life to turn it into the ultimate T1.
With 530PS (523hp) and 757Nm (558lb-ft) of peak torque, the VW T1 Race Taxi is not a vehicle to mess with. It’s powered by an air-cooled light alloy six-cylinder sourced from Porsche 993 fitted with two turbochargers, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox from a Porsche 996 GT3. The steering and brakes are also sourced from the 993, while the three-piece BBS racing wheels are show with tires sized 285/30/18.
Thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber, the custom VW T1 tips the scales at 1,500 kg (3,307lbs), which means the weight to power ratio is just 3.8 kg/kW, similar to that of thoroughbred sports cars.
It all sounds great, but why did it take six years to build? Well, Bernhard is a perfectionist. “For me it was a professional challenge. I wanted to find out the limit of what is possible,” the coachbuilder says.
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