This Sunday, March 10th, The People’s Car will make its debut at one of themost prestigious collector-car events in the world, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. To celebrate both the final year of the current-generation Beetle and the 70th anniversary of the first Beetle being sold in the U.S., the Concours is hosting a class for Beetle cars with custom coachwork.
The Concours, now in its 24th year, traditionally features a special class that stands apart from concours orthodoxy. In the past, the Amelia Island Concours has featured the like of movie and advertising cars, but this year chose to highlight an overlooked segment of Europe’s carrozzeria (or karosserie) culture with a class of custom coachwork Volkswagen vehicles.
”We’re delighted that the Amelia Island Concours chose to host a class for the Beetle with custom coachwork,” said Klaus Bischoff, Head of Volkswagen Design. “While everyone knows the humble Beetle, it’sless well-known that the Beetle platform was used by a number of coachbuilders in Europe to produce the amazing, unique vehicles on show this weekend.”
“The Volkswagen with custom coachwork is the flipside of the Bug’s original American mission and message, and thus the perfect fodder for an Amelia Concours special class,” said Bill Warner, Founder and Chairman of the event.
The class will showcase 12 custom-bodied Volkswagen vehicles:
- 1950 Hebmueller Type 14A
- 1951 Rometsch Beeskow Coupe
- 1951 Tempo Matador
- 1953 Rometsch Taxi
- 1953 Dannenhauer & Stauss Cabriolet
- 1954 Dannenhauer & Stauss Coupe
- 1954 Rometsch Beeskow Coupe
- 1956 Beetle by Troutman and Barnes
- 1957 Rometsch Lawrence Convertible
- 1960 Rometsch Lawrence Coupe
- 1965 Karmann-Ghia Type 1 concept
- 1969 Beetle Wedding Car
This will be the first time that this many custom coachwork Volkswagen vehicles are assembled in the same place and the first time that a number of these cars will be seen in public in the U.S. The 1965 Karmann-Ghia Type 1 concept, which belongs to Volkswagen, and the 1951 Rometsch Beeskow Coupe, which belongs to the Grundmann Collection, have been shipped specially from Germany for the occasion.
