There are many, many valid reasons why someone would want to build a trike based on the VW beetle. Rewaco, Boom, Phoenix all produce sweet looking low-rider style trikes based on this configuration.
On the back of this you can buy lots of custom made parts for VW based trikes. When opting for this design, you start with the rear axle and suspension from the donor car. This is a bonus if you don't want to, or don't have the ability to design your own rear suspension. You simply buy or build the front end of the chassis and bolt the two halves together... job done!
There are drawbacks too. The basic design of the VW floorpan hasn't changed much over the last half century. Apart from the introduction of IRS (independent rear suspension) which the 1302S has, it's torsion bar system is as old as the hills.
Having taken receipt of the greasy, rusty heap of parts and steel that would form the basis of my trike, I set about some fairly intense computer aided chassis design in an effort to bring my dream machine to life.
Things were going well. I had a series of drawings - all to scale - that would provide an elegant solution for joining front and rear ends together. I was happy but something was bugging me really bad!
I never really liked the beetle engine for various reasons. I'd been constantly looking for a suitable beetle motor but never bought one. In hindsight, I'm pleased I didn't.
What if, I coupled the far-superior (IMO) Alfasud motor to the back of the VW box? There are adapter plates still available that facilitate this very combination. This way, I would have the motor that I (really) wanted. The search was on...
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