A little while ago there was a remarkably strange and one-off Beetle, that was pieced together using metal stands, which you can see for yourself here just in case you have missed it. But now I’ve across something even better. This utterly crazy and insane Beetle has one mission: dare present-day supercars’ performance numbers.
Up front, things look normal and casual. But the action and adrenaline come into play as you glance at its back. A 1,450 hp GE T58-8F chopper turboshaft engine staged at the rear.
The really entertaining bit is Ron Patrick, the architect, hasn’t got rid of the Beetle’s factory-fitted engine. He utilizes it to drive in the city. But when there is an open stretch, you understand what he’ll do, won’t you? Totally strange and totally cool. Rejoice by viewing the video.
We can’t seem to put forward enough of Beetle mods, restorations and peculiar cars based on this epic hatch. So why would somebody do such a thing of acquiring a Corolla and making a VW out of it?
Possibly it could have been a man’s discontentment over the $60,000 expenditure to import the Beetle into his nation. Even so, this Corolla-derived Beetle borrowed from other company’s parts bins to try and make it whole. For instance, the seats are from BMW, the mirrors are from the Honda Civic, and countless interior bits are from unknown places. Merely the badges and lights are loaned from the Beetle making this a project car that has truly gone nowhere.
Volkswagen is working on a new generation Beetle. It will come as a 2011 model and will be built on the sixth-generation Golf platform. Volkswagen will adapt the Beetle’s distinctive style to a North American version of the Up! minicar.
The new New Beetle will come off the same platform as the Golf MK VI, in the 2010, or more likely, the 2011 calendar year and will include a hybrid version. VW would be smart, in fact, to make the MkII New Beetle hybrid-only, as its distinctive style lends it the same kind of instant recognition as the Toyota Prius. VW of America hasn’t officially confirmed the next New Beetle, saying only that it’s under study.
Volkswagen is rumored to be considering a Beetle-style version of the rear-engine, monobox/hatchback Up! concept unveiled last year at the Frankfurt show.
Yet another special for Beetle lovers. You have seen your favorite car taking on different avatars, a wide range of color schemes, shapes, attachments and modifications but I bet on my bottom dollar that you haven’t seen anything like this as such.
This Beetle owner thought about customizing his Beetle in a totally different way. He used the sheet metal of the car as a template and made another body welding strands of metal and the final result is terrific. Black paint should have made it look a lot better.
In terms of performance, the loss of weight should improve handling, braking, acceleration, and top speed, but is all of that of any importance in a theme car? What is even more so a useless bit of info is the enhanced engine cooling gained due to the free air-flow through the grills. I wouldn’t want to be the driver maneuvering through city roads on a rainy day though. Enjoy!
For those who visited the Chicago show back in 2005, the Ragster Concept would have given you some idea on what was being planned, but then VW remained tight-lipped about the developments. News last month suggested the upcoming bug arriving sometime in 2011 will see a version with its top removed and even a small-sized SUV will feature in the list. VW will get there by using the 6th generation Golf platform to make the hatch and it would not be built stateside.
But now, Motor Trend reports that VW is considering another Beetle based on the VW Up!. The Up! debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt show and received a lot of positive response, especially from the American audience. So, VW might have decided to make use of it as a base to serve America exclusively with this iconic and hip car.
If the car is going to be based on the Up!, then it makes it a rear-engined, rear wheel-drive layout bringing it ever so close to the original version. The renderings are neat and the car should in all probability look like them.
What does all this mean. Simple-another sub-brand for VW. With the amount of waves the Beetle has created in America, launching these two vehicles under a brand new banner makes a whole lot of sense.
