Skip to main content

Volkswagen UK Warms Hearts with Beetle Story and Restoration

The Volkswagen Beetle is one of the best loved cars in the history of automobiles and that’s because of stories like Barry Openshaw’s.

Volkswagen UK recently sent out a call on social media to hear people’s fondest memories with their VWs. Barry submitted his, and it was chosen as the most meaningful, so VW got a crew together to surprise Barry with a blast from his past.

Barry’s story starts in the 1973 when his dad brought home a new Beetle. “It was a unique color because it was gold!” he says. “It felt quite special.”

According to Barry, the family had never bought a new car, so getting this one felt great, and from a young age Barry couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel.

Barry with Beetle 2

“[My dad] used to take me to Southport, sit me on his lap and I used to steer the car – just up the beach,” says Barry. “My oldest brother, Keith, courted his wife in that car. He got married and moved to Canada, it’s got to be over 30 years ago. There’s just something about it that takes me back to my childhood.”

With Barry’s mother passed away, and his father struggling with dementia, Volkswagen UK decided to reunite Barry with his brother and his Beetle, on the beach where they drove with their father.

Barry with restored car

“It’s absolutely gorgeous, and it looks like new!” says Barry. “It really takes me back to my time as a kid in the ’70s.”

Although they couldn’t find Barry’s exact Beetle, they did find a 1300 from the same year, and set about restoring it and painting it gold to match Barry’s.

Being resprayed

“It was incredible to see his reaction when we presented him with the 1970s Beetle, and well worth all the hard work in sourcing and restoring the car,” says Thomas Brady, VW communications manager.

Barry says that he wants to keep the car and show it calssic car events as often as he can.

Filming the YouTube content

The post Volkswagen UK Warms Hearts with Beetle Story and Restoration appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2fCreh7
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen Golf GTE Wins Top Honor at the 2015 Business Techies Awards

Golf GTE wins Green category in the 2015 BusinessCar Fleet Technology awards Judges praised the Golf GTE for its performance, ease of use and economy Golf GTE launched earlier this year with plug-in hybrid technology – priced from £33,755 204 PS performance combined with CO 2  emissions of just 39 g/km Volkswagen has added to its growing list of 2015 automotive industry accolades by winning the Green category in the annual BusinessCar Fleet Technology Awards – the Techies. The prestigious title was awarded to Volkswagen for the Golf GTE, an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines sporty dynamics with exceptional fuel economy and low CO 2  emissions. Now in their seventh year, the Techies are judged by both BusinessCar’s experienced editorial panel with help from TRL’s technology expert. The industry’s only technology-specific awards, the BusinessCar Techies reward the use of technology to make business car fleet operations easier, cheaper, cleaner, safer and more straig...
Post a Comment
Read more