Kombi sets speed record!

Either way, as a demonstration of Volkswagen's legendary durability, a 56-year old Kombi van has just achieved a top speed of 102.84 mph (166 km/h) and done the quarter mile sprint at the Santa Pod race track in the UK in a time of 12.65 seconds.

Although this in itself represents a new world record for a non turbocharged Volkswagen van, this unique 1953 Kombi, run by a team from Frankfurt, Germany, is planning to beat the record of 12.5 seconds for any Volkswagen van when it returns to Santa Pod for the annual 'Bug Jam' Volkswagen enthusiasts event in July.

Not surprisingly, the original 50 bhp, 1.6-litre engine from 1953 has been replaced with a highly-tuned, 2.8-litre Volkswagen engine producing 188kW and 330 Nm of torque, and the vehicle has also undergone a number of other mechanical updates.

The Kombi (officially the Transporter) is Volkswagen's best selling van, and one of the most popular vans ever, with over 10 million being produced since
production started almost 60 years ago in March 1950.

Source: JUST CARS, August 2009, Collectors Issue #162