I think you're onto something. This is the oldest entry on my album of Photochops, from 2013.
VW engine in FWD with a Type III axial [secondary] cooling fan with an eleven blade Porsche [primary] fan running at crankshaft speed. My calculation was that with the weight savings and improved aerodynamics, the performance would be no worse than the VW platform,
maybe not as good as the stock Prius (a testable hypothesis).
I support this approach. I believe it involves mating a Superbeetle transaxle with Golf driveshafts. Plus it conserves that Ghia bodywork. Plus you could make the Prius an hybrid again with a Buick altermotor.