Brazilian '74 VW Beetle retrofitted with a turbocharged EA827 engine

With engine swaps being a fairly common deal nowadays, a car which used to be such a strong seller in Brazil like the Volkswagen Beetle/Fusca would also have its fair share of the deal, not only from a basic utilitarian approach in order to keep an ancient car operating but also for performance enhancements, to which the Volkswagen EA827 engine range better known in Brazil as "AP" is among the favorites. And even though a stock EA827 would most likely be an improvement over the stock air-cooled boxer, there are those who take one step further and enjoy the extensive aftermarket support. Not only Volkswagens are adapted with this engine in Brazil, and turbocharging may be actually essential to keep up with the original performance of some models, while for a Beetle the performance enhancement is noticeable.

Even though a fully-dressed EA827 engine is considerably heavier than the air-cooled boxer, which can be much more of an issue for engine swaps into air-cooled Volkswagens because of the way the engine is held in place only through the bellhousing, the bolt patterns being much similar makes the adaptation easier than for most engines from other automakers. And unlike other regions such as the United States or Africa where Japanese automakers took over the market for compact cars way before the Beetle, and Volkswagen in general, fell out of favor among budget-oriented buyers, performance enhancements for the Volkswagen EA827 remain easier to find and more affordable than for most other engines. Maybe a flat-4 Subaru EJ engine could have fewer impact to the weight bias, but the Volkswagen EA827 is much more dumbproof for Brazilian standards and is easier to get either used or as a brand-new crate engine.