The largest sin the original VW Beetle ever committed was sporting a drivetrain seemingly made of wet paper bags. So to say, it could have been better in the power department. Well, we're not sure swapping the stock air-cooled Beetle engine for a three-cylinder radial engine sufficiently solves the lack of power problem without test-driving it. But it sure looks wicked.
But on the surface, at least, Zombug, as its Aussie creators at Radial Motion and Bespoke Engineering call it, appears to be one of the unique custom Beetles ever constructed. Gone is the original engine, as it's a better paperweight than it is an internal combustion engine at this juncture.
The engine in its place might have operating principles similar to those found in Second World War fighter planes but is still unique all its own. Radial engines were more often than used in aviation applications, after all.
It's a two-liter liquid-cooled radial engine, upgraded from the 1.6-liter three-cylinder radial of Radial Motion's own design. The car's been upgraded slowly since the project began in 2017 and wears its modifications handsomely.
The car most often received steady improvements after its respective trips to the Adelaide Classic Car Rally each year. In the state it currently sits in, you're not liable to find a custom Beetle quite so interesting anywhere else on the planet. At least, not one that hasn't had its body removed and replaced with a dune buggy of some sort.
In any case, the green paint job with black decals and painted steel wheels make for an instantly recognizable look wherever this car drives. With the rear engine hatch perpetually exposed, it inevitably incentivizes onlookers to ponder just what's powering the little car.
Considering it doesn't look like any automotive engine ever made, you'd have to be pretty up to date on your engine terminology to know that it's powered by something so special.
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