Skip to main content

Bertie the Beetle Will be the Welsh Rally’s Fourth VW

On October 27 Sebastien Ogier, fresh off his championship winning performance in Spain, will be in Wales fighting to get his team, Volkswagen Motorsport, the manufacturer’s title. With him, he’ll have his two teammates, and some moral support from Bertie the Beetle

Bertie is a 1958 Volkswagen Beetle that spent its formative years driving the people of Hereford, UK around as a taxi. Following an accident with a bus it was repaired and then prepared for rally duty by Bill Bengry, a legendary VW specialist, in the early ‘60s.

Bertie the Bettle contesting the 2015 WRGB National Rally 2

It rallied and raced extensively in the day, then was put into storage. In 1990, Bertie got a new lease on life, competing in the Monte Carlo Rally that year.

To mark the 25th anniversary of that adventure, Bob Beales entered the Beetle into last year’s Wales Rally Great Britain and won his class.

“Competing in Wales Rally GB last year was a brilliant experience,” says Beales. “It was very hard on the old car and the weather made it all the tougher – there was lots of aquaplaning. But that’s what makes it such a great event – it’s a monumental challenge.”

Bertie the Bettle contesting the 2015 WRGB National Rally 3

The rally was such a success that they’ve decided to enter again. Beales doesn’t really expect to keep up with the Polo R WRCs, though.

“The technology in those cars is just brilliant, although I’m not sure if I’m man enough to give one a go,” he says. “That said, I actually passed one of the Polos on last November’s event when Jari-Matti Latvala got  stuck in a ditch.”

And he isn’t the only one who remembers it: “I reminded Jari-Matti  about it when I saw him at Goodwood ealier this year, and he remembered seeing Bertie going past—it’s one of those cars you just can’t forget.”

The post Bertie the Beetle Will be the Welsh Rally’s Fourth VW appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2dZ8HIk
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...