Specifications

• Be one of the 22. Million. Ordinary but special. Widely accepted and highly sentimental. –

For 65 years, Volkswagen Beetles rolled off the assembly line. The car that officially received the most nicknames and was assembled in 20 countries. The first one was signed in 1925 by a Hungarian named Bela Barenyi. Little did he know…

And the name Beetle? It was thanks to the New York Times, which in 1938 wrote an article about the ‘peoples car’. The article referred to a Beetle because the boot lid (yes, the front one) resembles the back of a… turtle! Oh no, that was the translated nickname from Bolivia; Peta.

In Indonesia you ask for a frog (Kodak), in France for the Coccinelle, which means the ladybird. As you can see, a car with a Käfer has a lot of sentiment.

And then to the engine. As soon as the neighbour starts bellowing about his old-fashioned Porsche, you can remind him that the 356 is the flattened version of yours and that the 914 was even born at VW. Don’t tell anyone.

Are you looking for a ’68 in poppy red, that goes topless at the first ray of sunshine? She has been fully maintained, reconditioned and restored a while back. She’s ready for lots of smiles a litre. Will we see you soon?

• Remember the one about the lady who looked under her front hood and thought somebody stole her engine? – VW Beetle ’65.