'98 Civic with a VW Beetle engine
 

I don't know how to embed a video from YouTube, but found this one about a '98 Honda Civic that was fitted with the entire drivetrain of a VW Beetle. Audio is in Portuguese, but it doesn't really matter, the images worth more than a thousand words...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKUDOZahUxM

BTW such mod was quite popular for older French cars through the '70s to the early '90s due to the lack of replacement parts for them in Brazil at the time, and even an uncle of mine had a Beetle-powered Simca for a while, but I never seen any newer car with a similar setup.

Here's my design for a FWD Prius with a 36hp VW engine with Type III cooling on a Superbeetle transaxle. I contend that within it's performance envelope (plausibly smaller than the stock Prius, but maybe not considering the weight savings) it would return equal economy.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...7-12-29-57.png

I don't have it in my Albums, but at the NW Bug-run someone used to drag race a Rabbit pickup with a air-cooled VW drivetrain in the rear.

Err... Why? I could perhaps see going the other way, and putting the Civic drivetrain in a New Beetle.

I don't know. But, according to the guy who recorded the video, it was quoted to be cheaper than fixing some electrical problems that this Civic had. Once again, remember that it was recorded in Brazil, and our local market is waaaaaay different than yours there in the States, and so are the replacement parts cost and availability.

ANALOGY -- ala' the "...fix it at ALL costs..." mantra in Cuba.

It's an interesting analogy. OTOH we must remember that here in Brazil the Jap automakers are still often regarded somehow "premium" while Volkswagen, Fiat, Chevy and Ford have a broader popular image. So it seems like the Civic body would be better suited to show off in the slums than an old Beetle.

I thought he was going to flip the ring gear around and mount it mid-engine style in the front hood... just adapt the drive shafts.

Nope, that's quite the monstrosity!

It wouldn't be impossible to do so. Could use the transaxle from the Passat/Dasher that lasted long enought up to 2013 in some versions of the Volkswagen Gol.

Longitudinal engine? Did they have a 5-speed?

I heard that the combination is Superbeetle transaxle and Rabbit axles.

Edit:
Yes, no. :(

There were longitudinal-engined Volkswagens with 5-speed transmissions. Even the Fox exported from Brazil to the US and Canada had it available as an optional feature.