On the drive from Essen to Dortmund, the VW hit a major milestone of the trip. After 3 months of traveling, nearly 7,500 kilometers, 1 oil change (Alex did it in a hotel parking garage – a funny story for another time) and some minor adjustments, our veteran car (and recently mobile home) is still running well.
If you’re interested, check out this great 1960s TV ad to see a young Dustin Hoffman explain where the Type 3 Fastback engine is (not).
So where is the engine?
Yeah, what about that engine? And does it really go 84mph? Can we trust Dustin Hoffman? With all that “elbow room,” can it really be a mobile home? Wow.
The engine is actually in the back but hidden under a panel. It’s nicknamed the “pancake” engine because it was designed to be flat. Gives us a lot of extra storage space for such a long road trip, which is great. On the other hand, Dustin Hoffman is not that big of a guy, so he might make the interior look a little roomier than it really is.