We’ve seen Beetle engines in bikes, the most famous of which being the one built by hot-rod legend Von Dutch based on a 1942 Harley-Davidson XA. But a bike engine Beetle?

Well, according to a story on Speedhunters, Norway’s Gatebil event has turned up just that – a Honda CBR 1000 bike engine fitted into a radically customised shell of a 1302 Beetle. The Norwegian show goers are no strangers to fitting oddball powerplants in the People’s Car, one racer having shoehorned a BMW M5 engine in the front of a classic Bug previously -check out that article on Speedhunters here.

The precise details of the conversion remain somewhat sketchy, but the 1302’s bodyshell has obviously been significantly modified with widened wings and a variety of aero features including a mahoosive front air dam. A roll cage has been added to provide the necessary rigidity, but despite this the overall weight is estimated to be a featherweight 650-700kg.

The Honda motorbike engine is stock at the moment and produces 175bhp, but the owner has plans to add a turbo conversion once he has ironed out a few of the inevitable teething issues with the suspension and chassis.

As you might expect, the inside of this totally off-the-wall project has also had a fair bit of fabrication, with paddle shift gearchangers, hip hugging OMP racing pews and an abundance of bespoke alloy panelling both on the dash and the door panels being the most obvious features.

From the back (spot the US-spec rearlights) it’s particularly menacing with more aero features and twin motorbike exhaust pipes that protrude from the bootlid where the number plate would usually appear. As to how it sounds – well, think scream then go up a couple of decibels…

Visit Speedhunter’s story to see more pictures.

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage.

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