Developing the Beetle for Motorsport.

The Beetle is not a natural choice as a motorsport and required considerable development to take it from a production saloon car to a motorsport warrior.

“Pauli” Schwarz initially identified engine lubrication as the Achilles’ heel for the Beetle. At high cornering speeds and load changes, the oil in the shallow oil pan sloshed past the oil pump’s intake manifold and the lubricating film threatened to tear off. On the carburetor the long intake pipes and short opening of the valves were further weaknesses. As a result, the combustion chambers were insufficiently filled, and the Beetle engine only offered a meagre output per litre. This is where “Pauli” Schwarz came in.

The engine was enlarged to 1,599 cc by oversized pistons. Abraded cylinder heads increased the compression ratio from 7.3 to 9.1:1. The intake ducts were extended and adapted to the intake manifolds on both sides of Sauer and Son. In addition, the intake valves have been significantly enlarged from 35.5 to 40 millimetres. On the exhaust side, the ducts were polished, the valves remained unchanged. The connecting rods were balanced, the crankshaft finely balanced. At the heart of the improvements was the conversion to a dry sump lubrication system with an oil content of seven litres (instead of 2.5 litres in the series). Initially, the mixture was prepared using two Solex twin carburettors from the Porsche 912, later via two Weber 46 IDA from the Porsche 904.

To top it all off, “Pauli” Schwarz completely reground the camshafts in secret actions – supposedly in his soundproof private cellar. In addition, there was space behind the slotted front panel for an oil cooler from the Porsche 908. The exhaust system has been aerodynamically optimised by widening all passages of the standard system and removing the screens from the tailpipes. The reward for the effort was 120 to 128 hp at 7,000 rpm from the 1600 Beetle engine and enough steam from 2,000 rpm.

Initially, a four-speed gearbox with a long first gear was used, the wheelsets of which had to be elaborately manufactured by the Austrian transmission specialist Schafleitner. From the beginning of 1972, the newly homologated 5-speed gearbox of the Porsche 914 with an 80% lock gradually followed. This gave you access to the diverse Porsche gear pairings.

The factory Beetle chassis was dampened by Bilstein sports shock absorbers and standard rims widened to 5.5 inches, which were fitted with 155 SR 15 tyres. The brakes only remained in stock condition. Later, components from the Type 3 improved the deceleration. The handbrake worked in the opposite way to the standard function: it only locked at the push of a button. In 1973, the installation of a rear stabilizer bar was experimented with. The Beetles of the ’73 Elba Rally are even said to have had reinforced torsion bars of the Volkswagen Variant at the rear.

The front trunk of the Salzburg Beetle consisted of an 80-litre aluminium tank, which had to quench the irrepressible thirst of the rear-wheel drive car: up to 25 litres/100 km were measured during the rally chase. A strut brace provided increased rigidity. The drivers sat on Scheel sports seats and turned a heavily shot Indianapolis steering wheel. The engine was controlled by an add-on tachometer, and there were three indicators for the engine oil: for station, pressure and temperature. The oil tank of the 1303 versions was placed in the rear seat, so they were homologated as two-seaters. In the case of the 1302, the oil tank was housed in the left rear wheel arch, so homologation was carried out as a 4-seater.

The VW Beetles from 1971 to 1973 were all built to Group 2 specification (improved touring cars). The Volkswagen 1302 S was used, and in the course of 1973 it was replaced by the VW 1303 S.

It is probably worth mentioning that Yorkshireman Tony Fall drove one in the 1973 Acropolis Rally (First picture below car no 15).