The Volkswagen Type 3 (sold as the Volkswagen 1500 and later the Volkswagen 1600) was a range of small cars from German manufacturer Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

 (VW), introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show, Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA).

The Type 3 diversified Volkswagen's product range beyond the existing models — the Type 1 (Beetle)

Volkswagen Beetle

The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...

, Type 14 Karmann Ghia

Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is a 2+2 coupe and convertible marketed from 1955 to 1974 by Volkswagen – combining the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 , styling by Luigi Segre of the Italian carrozzeria Ghia, and hand-built bodywork by German coach-builder Karmann.The Karmann Ghia was...

, Type 2 (Bus)

Volkswagen Type 2

The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or Kombi informally as Bus or Camper , was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model – following and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 , it was given the factory...

 — while retaining their engineering principles, notably the air-cooled

Air-cooled engine

Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over hot parts of the engine to cool them.-Introduction:Most modern internal combustion engines are cooled by a closed circuit carrying liquid coolant through channels in the engine block and cylinder head, where the coolant absorbs heat,...

 engine and the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.
The Type 3 was a follow-on design which would have a more conventional body design that shared little in common with the Type 1 Beetle except for the concept of a rear-engined, 4-cylinder air-cooled engine that was designed to take less space.