It sounds a bit strange for a popular family car like the Volkswagen Beetle to be outfitted with a roll bar, bucket seats and a racing harness. But the first souped-up VW Bugs hit the roads in Germany as early as 1951.Drive it! got a chance to take a specially-tuned, vintage rallye Beetle out for a spin - and discovered that roll bars, bucket seats and racing seat belts are more than welcome in a Bug that can do 170 km/h.
Vintage! Porsche 911S | drive it!
The 911 is THE iconic sports car and the raspy note from its air-cooled engine became its trademark.Two years after the 911 hit the showrooms, Porsche came out with the even more powerful 911S. Under the hood was a 2 liter motor pumping out 160 PS. It was enough to take car and driver to a top speed of over 220 km/h. The original design from 1963 was the work of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who was just 28 years old at the time. The car's timeless silhouette still catches the eye today and provides the blueprint for all 911s that followed.
Vintage: Hebmüller Convertibles - Borgward Hansa 1500 and VW Beetle | drive it
The Borgward Hansa 1500 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1949. It blew away the German competition from the likes of Opel and Mercedes. They only had models based on old, pre-war models from the 30s in their sales lots.The Hansa was produced as a sedan, station wagon, box van and even a four-door luxury convertible, with a Hebmüller car body. The same manufacturer also transformed the VW Beetle into an iconic convertible. We take a look at the two heavenly creations from the 50s.
vintage! The Karmann Ghia | drive it!
It is a heartbreaker of a car, a real dreamboat and possibly the most beautiful VW ever built. However the sporty coupe does have one small drawback. Its design is far racier than its driving performance.The first Ghias were fitted wtih 30 horsepower VW Beetle engines, while later models got 50 horsepower motors. Still, when the Karmann Ghia was introduced back in 1955 this was more than enough to keep vehicles like the Goggomobil and BMW Isetta in check. During it's close to 20 years in production, some 443,000 Ghias were sold. Today this classic car has nothing left to prove. We take a relaxing drive in this stylish milestone of automotive history.
vintage: Autobianchi A112 | drive it
Small, cute and agile - those are the attributes that helped the Autobianchi A112 lay the groundwork for a new model segment.When it was introduced in the fall of 1969, car lovers got more than just an Italian version of Britain's Mini. Produced by Fiat subsidiary Autobianchi, the A112 was the first truly driveable supermini. We hit the road with an A112 with a 44 horse power, transversely mounted four-cylinder engine.
VW Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle may be the most famous car worldwide and is certainly a cult classic in a class of its own. This 1956 classic Beetle has to pass the modern age tracktest - how will it perform?
1962 VW Ragtop Beetle Test Drive
Visit http://www.sunsetclassics.com/1962-vw-beetle-ragtop/ to see this beautifully restored 1962 VW Beetle for sale from Sunset Classics.
The color on this Sunroof Bug is perhaps my favorite color ever offered on a classic Volkswagen: L380 Turquoise. Amazingly the turquoise on the interior of the car is original paint! The dash face, the inside of the doors, and the area above the windshield are in the same beautifully applied coat of paint sprayed at the factory way back in February of 1962.
The exterior paint is very nice. All of the glass was removed when the exterior of this bug was painted for a very thorough job. New window rubber, new door rubber, new fender beading and new turn signal rubber were all installed during reassembly. This was a thorough restoration and the end result is the great-looking sunroof Beetle.
Please check out the full description, 2 photo galleries and more video at the link above, and then give me a call to take her home!
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John Snell
612-805-2428
132777 / 1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle
For more information on this vehicle visit http://tinyurl.com/caj7rvk
This incredibly cool 1973 Super Beetle is the perfect car for a budget-minded collector or someone who is new to the hobby.
Sporting a vivid coat of brilliant blue paint, this fully sorted and completely road ready '73 Super Beetle is fresh out of a ground up restoration which likely cost twice as much as we're asking for it. The restorers began by stripping the car down to its bare floor pan and fully prepping and rebuilding the body. Once the body was aligned to better than factory standards, it was disassembled and evenly covered in two-stage basecoat/clearcoat paint. The end result is a very clean, well-aligned bug with a smooth finish and outstanding appearance that will provide years of worry-free fun.
Powering this sharp '73 Super Beetle is the cars original dual port 1600 cc air cooled, flat four cylinder, which upon its introduction in 1971 made a bristling 50 horsepower. Completely rebuilt during the cars restoration, it runs beautifully with that famous and distinctive VW sound, and will likely putter along forever with a minimum of fussing and tuning. At the top of the engine, a mirror-like air cleaner feeds air to a new Bocar one barrel carburetor. To the left of that carburetor, a Bosch coil supplies a traditional points distributor that's equipped with Bosch plug wires. And to the right of that carburetor, a chrome generator sits above a body-matched oil filler tube and chrome dipstick. At the back of the engine, a Claudes Buggies ignition system is affixed to the cars blue firewall, and in front of the engine, a new belt snakes around blue Scat pulleys and an aluminum Scat tensioner. Exhaust is handled by fresh VW branded headers; and, like the rest of the car, the entire engine bay has been restored to show quality standards.
Take one look underneath this VW and you'll see just how much work went into its complete, nut and bolt restoration. Both the front and rear suspensions have obviously been completely rebuilt and feature fresh bushings, fresh shocks and an aftermarket anti-sway bar. At the front of the car, new disc brakes are equipped with fresh hardware and new pads, and at the back of the car, rebuilt drum brakes are outfitted with fresh hoses. Power flows from the motor into a 4-speed manual transmission which turns four chrome EMPI eight spoke wheels that are wrapped in 175R15 Nanking front and 205/75R15 Republic Ensign rear radials. The bottom of this Beetle is spotless and looks spectacular with all-new stainless hardware holding together straight and solid floors which display a great looking coat of gloss black paint.
Pop open the door and you'll find a completely custom blue LED lit interior which features a $2K sound system and is the perfect spot to spend the afternoon cruising. The driver and front passenger enjoy firm Procar by Scat buckets, rear occupants ride on a custom covered bench and all passengers are secured with new, correct lap belts. At the front of the car, a new for 1973 padded dash shows no warping or fading and, with the exception of an MP3 compatible Alpine CD player, features the same minimalist readouts and accessories found in all Beetles. Below the seats, brand new black carpet lies under custom kick panels that have been outfitted with large Infinity Reference speakers and a chrome EMPI trigger shifter. At the sides of the seats, completely painted door jams and window frames contrast well to custom two-tone door panels which feature new armrests, billet window cranks and billet lock knobs. Above the seats a thick and tight custom headliner stretches from door to door and leads the eye to a reworked package tray which has been professionally upholstered and houses two more massive Infinity Reference speakers. In front of the driver, a familiar Grant GT steering wheel makes good use of the cars reduced turning radius, and in front of the cockpit, a spacious, by Beetle standards, fully restored front hatch holds a horizontal spare tire.
If you're looking for fun, practical transportation, this fully sorted Super Beetle looks awesome and is ready to go. Call, click or visit http://RKMotorsCharlotte.com for more information on this awesome car!
Old vs New: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle
We compare the design of the all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle to that of the original icon.
Shot by: Duane Sempson
Edited by: Duane Sempson
