The almighty VW Beetle 1200 '66, what are you going to do first?

  • Thread starter Thread starter diegorborges
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Attempt to drive round the long version of Eiger Nordwand... see if it can get up the hill the stock fiat 500 fails at....
 
maxpontiac
The inclusion of the 1966 VW Bug is by far the best thing I have seen in GT5.

From 1989-1996, my Blue 66 Bug was my vehicle of choice. It was given to me by my Grandmother when I turned 16. That car symbolizes not only my High School life, it was also the car I used when I was dating my soon to be wife.

So many great memories are involved with that car, when I saw it last night I got goosebumps, and called my wife out to me so she could see what I was looking at.

So, with that in mind...

The first thing I am going to do when I have the '66 Bug in GT5 is head to GT Auto. I will then find a blue that comes close to what my real car had, and then locate the closest match to wheels that were on my car. I am hopeful that the bumpers can be removed from my car being how that was the first thing I did when I got mine. If it's not, I can live with it, but it would be perfect if I could!

After that, I will head to the purchase parts in the tuning section and find an exhaust that matched mine. Once i have selected the right sounding exhaust, I will purchase the customizable suspension kit, and lower it to match my car.

Once all that is done, it's off to Photo Travel.

A BIG thank you PDI for including such a memorable vehicle.
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Until 1996? Please tell me it didn't die :nervous:
 
Strittan
Drop it as much as possible and give it huge camber in the rear and none in the front.

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This guy, her knows!

EXACTLY what I'm gonna do. But I suspect it wont go low enough :nervous:
 
peterjford
Maybe the fact that the original was paid for by the Nazis and a propaganda tool of Adolf Hitler. Despite its origins it was a revolutionary automobile and deserves a Premium representation in the game. Maybe they will give us a Premium Model T in the future.
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And guess who gave Hitler a birthday present and who Hitler returned the favour to? Yep, the famously outspoken anti-semite Henry Ford.
Won't mind a Thin Lizzy because of that though, if we judge car companies by dodgy associations with the Nazis, there won't be many left.

Griffith500
I thought it was paid for by the German people initially.
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Yes, there was a saving scheme, whereby I think you received a stamp on a card whenever you bought something in a shop, etc.
Bit like supermarkets do today....hmmm wonder where they got the rest of their ideas. ;)


tfed
600 cc, 25 hp
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And that's why it's called 1200?
 
That thing is pure evil on wheels. If I will ever buy this car co-designed by Hitler I will crash it as hard as possible.
 
Don't forget the Beetle owes a lot to the Tatra T97, if you are interested in the beetle for the historical aspect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_97

Personally i find it a hugely over-rated car, but it's importance due to its sheer numbers produced over a hideously long period for such an obselete car, particularly in south/central America can't be denied. Also proved to be the base for two manufacturers, VW who produced little else for a long time, and Porsche who evolved it to the 911s that are produced today.
 
maddog999
Don't forget the Beetle owes a lot to the Tatra T97, if you are interested in the beetle for the historical aspect.
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Yeah, Ferdinand Porsche basically nicked every idea he became famous for from Hans Ledwinka. :lol:
Not only from him though, there recently was a book published about the engineer Josef Ganz, who was persecuted by the Nazis since he was Jewish.
He build this rear-engined car called the Maikafer which predates the Beetle by several years.

Maikafer_prototype_Josef_Ganz_1931.jpg
 
I love how this is slowly turning into "Is it morally right to buy the VW beetle in GT5" thread.

Personally I'll buy it fully tune it slam it and paint it bright yellow :) RM's for this car would be amazing :)
 
tfed
Small and affordable,easy to mass produce quickly,very reliable,easy to work on for the common person.
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Fair enough. 👍 Not that reliable on a summers day though, not when a hill is encountered anyway! :lol:

But when compared to similar engines of the era how does it compare, Austin A series, errrr, trying to think of comparable engines isn't that easy.... Fiat 500 engine? I think in short, the VW was a very reliable unit! :p
 
DannyBarisGT
That thing is pure evil on wheels. If I will ever buy this car co-designed by Hitler I will crash it as hard as possible.
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Hitler had the idea for a cheap, affordable car. Ferdinand Porsche designed it.
 
maddog999
Fair enough. 👍 Not that reliable on a summers day though, not when a hill is encountered anyway! :lol:

But when compared to similar engines of the era how does it compare, Austin A series, errrr, trying to think of comparable engines isn't that easy.... Fiat 500 engine? I think in short, the VW was a very reliable unit! :p
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They even use adapted versions in small airplanes, so pretty reliable I'd reckon.

vw-turbo2.jpg
 
analog
Yeah, Ferdinand Porsche basically nicked every idea he became famous for from Hans Ledwinka. :lol:
Not only from him though, there recently was a book published about the engineer Josef Ganz, who was persecuted by the Nazis since he was Jewish.
He build this rear-engined car called the Maikafer which predates the Beetle by several years.

Maikafer_prototype_Josef_Ganz_1931.jpg
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Such is the way, I suppose. I bet there was a good deal of shared knowledge; maybe Porsche was just lucky that the British Army took such a liking to the Beetle, or rather to its potential immediate use to them.

Interestingly (or not), the English name for the Maikäfer is "cockchafer". That car does look a bit cramped... :lol:
 
maddog999
Fair enough. 👍 Not that reliable on a summers day though, not when a hill is encountered anyway! :lol:

But when compared to similar engines of the era how does it compare, Austin A series, errrr, trying to think of comparable engines isn't that easy.... Fiat 500 engine? I think in short, the VW was a very reliable unit! :p
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Dunno about the austin's but the fiat had a 2 cylinder 480 cc engine,so take your pick at the time really. You basically pray and keep rocking your weight forward to make it up that hill ha and celebrate coming down
 
I'll drive it once somewhere and then leave it in my garage with the other 900 cars I don't have time to race, god I love this game. Just calculate how long it would take to put each car around each track (all variations) just once.
 
analog
They even use adapted versions in small airplanes, so pretty reliable I'd reckon.

vw-turbo2.jpg
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It's not the engine itself, it's the type of engine. The Achilles heel to all air-cooled Beetles was the fan belt, if that broke, you were screwed. An air-cooled engine (located in the front to boot) in an airplane on the other hand, has all the incoming cooling air it needs. Here's a million mile Beetle story, 1965 model.

http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?i=26073 (page 48).
 
Griffith500
Co-designed? No. That honour belongs to Ferdinand Porsche alone. You should probably avoid the rest of his cars, too. 👍
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Ok maybe designed in order of Hitler. But he gave the order and approval of it so I do not like this Third-Reich product.
 
TP3
It's not the engine itself, it's the type of engine.
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Okay, although I'm pretty certain I've read somewhere about a small airplane which actually used a modified VW-engine but then I'm no expert so thanks for clarifying.

DannyBarisGT
Ok maybe designed in order of Hitler. But he gave the order and approval of it so I do not like this Third-Reich product.
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If that's your argument, you'd better avoid reading too much history since there will be plenty of products and brands you would want to stay away from then.
 
DannyBarisGT
Ok maybe designed in order of Hitler. But he gave the order and approval of it so I do not like this Third-Reich product.
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No RUFs or Porsches for you then. I take it you dont have the Samba bus then, or the other aircooled VWs. Without this "Hitler-mobile", there would be no Porsche at all, or Bugatti Veyron, or any VW AG at all. Everything VAG and Porsche AG has ever done is thanks to the Beetle. Probably would not have dune buggies such as the Meyers Manx either, come to think of it.
 
Unfortunately Gran Turismo is a driving simulator. I'd rather drive something a tad faster then a VW beetle, which has a 0-60 time so slow you can use a sun dial.
 
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Hopefully we can paint the standard wheels and it'll leave the hub caps chrome. Regardless of what you think of the beetle, it is VERY historically significant (even in motorsport), and hence has a place in GT5.

lilcat89
No RUFs or Porsches for you then. I take it you dont have the Samba bus then, or the other aircooled VWs. Without this "Hitler-mobile", there would be no Porsche at all, or Bugatti Veyron, or any VW AG at all. Everything VAG and Porsche AG has ever done is thanks to the Beetle. Probably would not have dune buggies such as the Meyers Manx either, come to think of it.
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There are a great many things in life you wouldnt like if you adobted this mentailty TBH. Ofcourse hilter was evil, but it very unfair to hate on all things German.

Personally, I think Germany is the greatest country for automotive products.
 
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