Have you ever heard of the Speedhunters VW Beetle? Yeah, this is it, the coolest combination between classic VW looks and modern racing technology. Adonis, the owner, builder and VW enthusiast tells us its story.
Because the classic Beetle has a rear-mounted flat-4 engine, the natural candidate for an engine transplant is Subaru. So this is by no means the only Beetle with a WRX or STI heart, but the overall execution is so perfect that you'd think it's a rendering, not something which actually exists or ever goes racing.
The project started out with a "cool picture from the internet," of a racing Bug with side exhausts. But making it a reality was no easy task and required ten years of hard work.
The EJ20 2-liter is presumably from an older Impreza or Legacy sedan. But it wasn't making enough power, so Adonis immediately bought an immense off-the-shelf turbocharger. This was then paired with custom intake and exhaust ports, 1,000 cc injectors and custom exhaust which lifted the total output to just shy of 400 horsepower. That might not sound like much, but you've got to remember the Beetle weighs as much as a packet of crisps.
The old VW has also been gifted some custom suspension components, brakes from a BMW and lovely candy apple red BBS Wheels. Inside, it has racing seats, a custom roll cage, and industrial-looking intake tubes.
The body modifications are our favorite feature. Fender flares for both the front and the rear have been integrated so cleanly that you can't tell they're there. And in place of the front bumper, we have a black chin spoiler, matching the graphics down the side.
The super-Beetle is capable of insane acceleration, but can also do a bit of drifting thanks to the drift stick. For more on this build, check out the video below.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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