I’m sure most Ultra VW readers will have a pretty good idea about what is often described as a ‘German Look’ VW.
For the benefit of those new to the term, here’s what the Ultra VW team considers to be the basic ingredients behind this influential and ‘EU-essential’ style.
We’re talking about Beetles capable of holding their own on the unrestricted Autobahns – and being able to potentially outpace modern-day GT-saloon cars such as the awesome six-cylinder BMWs or their turbocharged four-cylinder rivals.
Generally speaking (yet without aiming to pigeon-hole the genre!), such VWs are often kitted out with Porsche-sourced braking systems, track-inspired suspension and gearing and many also choose to run big-diameter, low-profile-equipped wheel and tyre combinations more often associated with the latest supercars and sports cars.
OK, the most common basis for such a project is often the McPherson-strut-equipped 1303 Beetle, but there are many who have chosen the earlier-style, beam-equipped vehicles as a basis for such a project.
David Gluyas is one such person, but the major difference in this case is that EU regulations or TÜV requirements are all but meaningless as, to all intents and purposes, David lives on the other side of the world!
German Look VWs aren’t exactly big news in Australia. In fact, David’s ’65 Bug is probably one of just a handful of similarly styled VWs anywhere in the country – and almost certainly one of the best.
However, when you consider the fact that David has spent the past 15 years developing and perfecting every aspect of this awesome street car, you’d expect it to be pretty damn good, wouldn’t you?
That said, our 37-year-old enthusiast was actually lured away from Holden V8s and pressured into VW ownership by his father while at university, many moons ago. His father offered to pay for the registration and insurance – and even contribute towards the fuel costs should Dave choose to drive his grandmother’s Bug and steer clear of the big-power V8 muscle cars! David told us: ‘It didn’t take long for me to find out what these little flat-four VWs could do. I have Hot VWs magazine to thank for my education and enlightenment!’
What followed was a steep learning curve while Dave worked his way through a ’72 1302 and a ’75 1303. Having cut his teeth on these early projects, he eventually found himself planning his dream VW, based around the rot-free ’65 Bug you see here.
The plan was for this to be the kind of car that perhaps a motorsport department might have created as a special project. Now, it was just a case of working out a spec list and finding the right parts...
