Volkswagen Considered Making Classic Kombi With Porsche Look and Gol Dashboard, But Redesign Project Was Shelved

Volkswagen Was Planning To Develop Future Upgrades For Its Kombi Model. The Vehicle Could Receive Front Ends From The Gol Bolinha And Porsche, But The Project Did Not Get Off The Ground.

The former design chief, Luiz Alberto Veiga, who worked for 40 years at Volkswagen, was responsible for designing important models of the brand in the country. The second generation of the Gol, known as bolinha, from 1994, and the Fox from 2003, are considered the most emblematic vehicles of Veiga’s career at the automaker. The designer retired in 2016, after four decades dedicated to the development of new models and updates to existing vehicles. Since then, he has used his Instagram profile to showcase projects that did not materialize.

Volkswagen Planned To Develop Kombi With Gol Dashboard And Porsche Headlights

One of the projects is a re-styling proposal for the Kombi, which the designer shared with his followers last week. The images released by Veiga show sketches of two design suggestions for the utility vehicle.

In one of the images, the Kombi appears with two parabolas and arrows in the grille below the windshield, with a style reminiscent of the Porsche 911 Carrera, sold at the time.

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In the other photo, the round lights are replaced by a horizontal optical unit with integrated arrows, similar to those of the Gol bolinha. Both in the “Porsche” and in the “Gol,” the Old Lady would have a front bumper made of plastic rather than metal, as before.

The ‘Upgrade’ also suggested a new instrument panel like the Gol’s, a plastic cover to hide the steering column, which was fully exposed in front of the driver’s legs, and a two-spoke steering wheel.

According to the designer in a post on his Instagram, throughout his career he tried to make an update for the Kombi, but in the end, the new safety requirements determined the end of the production of one of the smartest working automobiles of all time.

Kombi Undergoes Re-Styling

Although the designer did not specify the production date of the images, the projects appear to be from the second half of the 1990s. The Kombi underwent a re-styling in ’97, gaining 11 centimeters in height and a sliding side door.

Inside, the vehicle lost the partition behind the front seats, which forced the German automaker to accommodate the spare tire in the Kombi’s trunk. In the same year, the Carat version was launched in the Brazilian market.

The owner model had a more luxury-focused proposal, with seats covered in plush fabric and a capacity for 7 people instead of 9, which was offered in conventional Kombis. After this update, the vehicle, which would receive traits from the Gol and Porsche, underwent its last visual change in 2006.

That year, the Kombi had to adopt the front grille of the new 1.4 flex engine, with liquid cooling, which replaced the old air-cooled gasoline 1.6 boxer, to comply with the new pollution emission laws in effect at that time.

Vehicle Discontinued In 2013

The Volkswagen Kombi was discontinued at the end of 2013, after 56 years of uninterrupted production at the Anchieta plant, located in São Bernardo do Campo, in the state of São Paulo.

Based on a project developed in the 1950s, the model could not be adapted to the new safety legislation that came into force in 2014, requiring the installation of ABS brakes and front airbags.