Tabla de contenidos para April 2026 en VolksWorld

“Krankenwagen, as we VW heads know, refers to ambulance. Or, more literally, sick wagon” From Single Cabs with a telescopic ladder or a bucket to Panel Vans fitted with fire brigade or refrigeration equipment, Volkswagen demonstrated real foresight with its Type 2 line up, offering a wide variety of special order models as far back as the 1950s. The various versions could all be ordered through Volkswagen dealerships, each with its own unique SO (special order) number, satisfying an amazing number of commercial customers from all walks of life. Some were built in greater numbers than others, and of those fire buses and ambulances have long proved popular with VW enthusiasts, not least because they are often low mileage and have been well maintained, as all vehicles used by the…

Some cars shout for attention, others simply let the attention come to them. This Iceland Green, early ’55, Oval Window Beetle isn’t shouting. It doesn’t rely on gimmicks or trends, and there’s nothing flashy for the sake of it. Instead, it pays back anyone who takes the time to slow down, take a closer look and appreciate how much effort goes into doing something properly. The car’s life before its current form couldn’t be further removed from what you see today. Through the 1980s it lived in California as a full-on Bay Area show car, wearing the heavy custom touches typical of the time with pride. One-piece glass, shaved panels, purple paint and velour everywhere; you get the picture. It was the sort of build that made perfect sense back…

One of the world’s most famous cars, an automotive icon, the original Beetle can trace its roots all the way back to the 1930s. Okay, so things didn’t really get going until after the Second World War, but the sheer number of Beetles produced since means they’re still the most readily available of all the air-cooled classics. While the early cars with their split or oval rear screens are the most distinctive, and generally speaking the most sought after, they are (arguably) a less suitable buy for a first timer. Not least because of parts availability and price. For that reason, we’re focusing here on the more affordable and practical models from the 1960s and 1970s (1302 / 1303 excepted), which still make great first cars for anyone not feeling…

Come join us, and be part of theVolksWorld community After the astounding success of the 2025 event, we're delighted that the The VolksWorld Show is returning to the South of England Showground in West Sussex in 2026, and promises to be bigger and even better than ever. As per last year, the format is still a single day event, but camping is now available for both Friday and Saturday nights, should you want to make a weekend of it. A pitch costs £30, and that's for two adults and two children for two nights (you can choose to add camping when purchasing show tickets via the website). The campsite is open from Friday afternoon and, on Friday night, Slaughter House Customs will be hosting a get together with a DJ…

The definition of ‘too far gone’, or ‘beyond repair’ varies wildly from person to person. I’ve rambled in my column before about how people seem less willing to take on projects these days; certainly, project cars are harder to sell than they once were. Yet there still exists a group of people with old-fashioned grit who not only aren’t put off by a bit of hard work, but revel in it. Kevin van Put sits firmly in that territory, and what follows has to rank as one of the most insane Beetle restoration stories you’re ever likely to read. When this car was discovered on Öland, an island off the south east coast of Sweden, the word car might be a bit of a generous description. What actually existed was…

At the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, controlled by the allied powers: the United States; Britain; France and the Soviet Union. Although Berlin lay deep within the Soviet zone, the city itself was further divided into four sectors, with the American, British and French sectors forming what became known as West Berlin. As Germany began to recover from the devastation of war, West Berlin relied heavily on road, rail and water routes for the movement of people, vehicles and vital supplies. On 24 June 1948, the Soviet Union attempted to gain full control of the city by imposing a blockade, cutting off all land and water access to West Berlin. The response from the West was swift and unprecedented. The United States…

There’s a romantic idea we all buy into when we start a car build. Well, apart from the age-old one of it’ll only cost x amount, and will be done in y time. It’s that if you just keep pushing, keep spending and keep believing, everything will eventually fall into place. The reality, of course, is rarely that neat. Some cars fight you every step of the way. They drain time, money and emotional energy and, at several points along the journey, you find yourself asking whether it would’ve been easier – or smarter – to just walk away, or buy something else. Paul Baker’s ’67 Beetle is very much one of those cars. Owned since 2005, the car started life as a 1500 deluxe with a steel sunroof. A…

VW’s fabled Type 3 range has always been the most austere arm of the air-cooled family. The kind of cars that calmly clear their throat, straighten their tie and quietly remind you that Volkswagen knew exactly what it was doing in the mid- ’60s when it decided the world needed something beyond its all-conquering Type 1 and 2 ranges. Erik Black’s example here dates from 1964. You can see it’s the popular Notchback model and is finished in Safari Beige, which looks an awful lot like a sagey green to most people. It’s been lightly lowered and sits perfectly over its chromed BBT Sprint Stars. It’s a masterclass in restraint. No theatrics, no wild deviations from stock, just some subtle upgrades from stock and a back story that spans decades,…