One reason my Vanagon only had an engine fire-all Diesel vanagons here came with a very heavy sound deadened metal lid. And the fact that it was a diesel.

That's how I met my Vanagon Westfalia-I rescued it from a junkyard, cleaned and painted the burnt engine compartment (oven cleaner helps remove baked-on grime).
I have since replaced the engine lid with a lighter metal air-cooled Vanagon lid.
I guess VW figured that the WBX could get by with a plastic lid, because after all, it was full of water and wouldn't melt down like an air cooled?

Robert K
1982 Westfalia
Seattle
WA USA