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This California-Made Giant Volkswagen Beetle Is Bigger Than a Hummer, Still Cute

The Volkswagen Beetle is one of the most iconic – and cutest – cars ever made. This Bug is still incredibly cute and retains the iconic form, but it’s actually bigger than a Hummer. Talk about a large presence.
The Huge Bug and the little sibling that inspired it, the VW Beetle 6 photos
Photo: YouTube / Barcroft Cars
The Huge Bug and the little sibling that inspired it, the VW BeetleThe Huge Bug and the little sibling that inspired it, the VW BeetleThe Huge Bug and the little sibling that inspired it, the VW BeetleThe Huge Bug and the little sibling that inspired it, the VW BeetleThe Huge Bug and the little sibling that inspired it, the VW Beetle
This Bug hails from California and wears the cheeky plate “Huge Bug,” just in case you can somehow miss the fact that it’s huge. It’s the creation of Scott Tupper and his father, both of whom have a lot of love for the Beetle, but not so for the fact that, in today’s world, it can easily get “run over” on the highway.

So, the Tuppers decided to make their own Bug, supersizing it by 50 percent. However, Scott tells Barcroft Cars in a new interview (you can see it in full below), that would have made it not road-legal, so in the end, they had to settle for a 40 percent enlargement. Which still makes this car of about the same size as a Hummer.

The duo took a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle and tore it apart, taking each piece and running it through the computer to make it 40 percent bigger. Then, they used that information to build custom body panels and molds, with which they built their supersized Bug.

For the platform, the Huge Bug uses a Dodge truck. A 5.7-liter V8 from a Dodge Magnum keeps this beast moving, but everything on the outside screams “classic Bug.” Great effort went into keeping up appearances, so the Dodge-sourced gauges are mounted on a pod that comes down from under the dashboard when driving, and then goes back up when you park the thing.

There’s also power steering, heated and air-conditioned seats, power windows and power door locks. Unlike the OG Bug, the Huge Bug has automatic transmission but, again, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at it: Scott says the clutch pedal is actually a fake and serves for braking.

All that hard work was worth it, though. In the video, Scott says they’ve been getting offers for it, but he’s not selling. And then there’s this reaction wherever they go: “People chase you to try to get up next to it, they almost run you off the road because they're not looking where they're going.”

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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