"DAS ORIGINAL": A VOLKSWAGEN TYPE 1 AIR-COOLED FLAT-FOUR COFFEE TABLE
Vintage Volkswagen Beetle boxer engine on a circular chromed base, under round crystal glass
Made to order
The Engine That Put the World on Wheels
Few machines have touched as many lives as this one. At the heart of this table is a vintage Volkswagen Type 1 air-cooled flat-four, the engine behind the Beetle. It was designed in the 1930s by Ferdinand Porsche's engineering office, and for more than half a century it was one of the most familiar sounds in the world.
Its layout is simple and clever. Four horizontally opposed cylinders are cooled by air alone, with no radiator, no water pump and no coolant. The result was an engine light, robust and simple enough to be repaired by the roadside with a handful of tools. That design powered more than 21 million Beetles, built from Wolfsburg to Puebla, where the last one left the line in 2003. The same engine also drove the Type 2 bus, the Karmann Ghia, countless dune buggies, and the Formula Vee racing series that started the careers of future Grand Prix drivers. Its principles were carried into the earliest Porsche 356, making it a direct ancestor of every air-cooled Porsche that followed.
A Piece of Art
This table presents the flat-four as a centrepiece, seen from every angle. The finned black cylinder barrels spread out symmetrically on each side. They are topped by polished cylinder heads and chromed valve covers, and joined at the center by the split aluminium crankcase. From above, the engine forms a perfect cross, framed by the circle of glass. At the rear, the machined flywheel with its toothed ring gear shows the engineering in its purest form. A German tricolour badge on the crankcase points to where it came from.
The engine rests on a circular chromed platform fitted with integrated lighting that lifts the engine's contours from below. Four polished chrome columns support a thick round crystal glass top on chromed standoffs. The round shape softens the mechanical subject, and the result sits as comfortably in a refined living room as in a collector's garage.
Specifications
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Engine: Volkswagen Type 1 air-cooled flat-four
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Finish: Polished and chromed cylinder heads and covers, black finned barrels, polished crankcase
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Base: Circular chromed platform with integrated lighting
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Columns: Four polished chrome pillars
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Top: Round thick crystal glass on chromed standoffs
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Dimensions: 120 cm x 50 cm / 47.24 x 19.69 inches
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Weight: 55 kgs / 120 Lbs
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Lead time: [add, e.g. approximately three months from order]
A Note for Collectors
This is the engine that democratised the automobile, reimagined as functional sculpture. It connects the Beetle, the VW bus and the air-cooled Porsche. Each table is built around an individual vintage engine, so every piece is unique.
