A CALIFORNIAN father and son have teamed up to supersize the classic Volkswagen Beetle. The VW enthusiasts upscaled the car by 40%, making it bigger than a Hummer. Scott Tupper, the younger generation of the duo, told R.Rides how the idea developed. “My dad and I thought it would be nice if we had a Volkswagen that was comfortable and not feel like you're going to get run over in traffic.” Once the idea was hatched, they went about making the dream into a reality. “We had a 59 Volkswagen convertible, we digitized it, scanned it everywhere, took it apart, and made each part 40% bigger on the computer.” Unsurprisingly, the vehicle has caused a lot of buzz on the roads. “People chase you to try to get up next to it, they almost run you off the road because they're not looking where they're going."
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MotorTranscript
00:00We decided we liked the Volkswagen and we wanted it to be 50% bigger.
00:07The funnest thing for this is being on the freeway.
00:11People just chase you to try to get up next to it
00:15and then they almost run you off the road because they're not looking where they're going.
00:18Some vehicles dominate the street with sheer size alone.
00:30The Volkswagen Beetle isn't one of them.
00:33The Bug is the great car but it's very small.
00:36Being dwarfed by other vehicles on the California roads
00:40led two generations of this family to the only logical solution.
00:46They were going to need a bigger Bug.
00:49My dad and I just thought it would be nice if we had a Volkswagen that was comfortable
00:53and not feel like you're going to get run over in traffic.
01:02It's a big vehicle. It's bigger than a Hummer.
01:06We decided we liked the Volkswagen and we wanted it to be 50% bigger,
01:11which is a huge amount.
01:13But it was a little bit too big to actually drive on the street legally.
01:17So we scaled it back to 40%.
01:20And supersizing such a classic is no mean feat.
01:25We had a 59 Volkswagen convertible.
01:28We basically digitized it, we scanned it everywhere,
01:31got that computer file built,
01:33and then took it apart and made each part 40% bigger on the computer.
01:38Used that information to build templates and get all of our dimensions and things
01:44and then started fabricating from there.
01:47The platform that we started with for the huge Bug,
01:51so it could handle all the weight and the size and the scale that we needed to go.
01:55And then everything's built on top of that.
01:57And while it's based on a 60-year-old car,
02:00this big beast has a good few mod cons.
02:04It's got all the creature comforts that you'd want in a new car.
02:08Power steering and heated and air-conditioned seats
02:11and a voluminous interior.
02:13It's got all the features that you'd want in a new car.
02:17Power steering and heated and air-conditioned seats
02:20and a Volkswagen with air-conditioning is kind of nice.
02:23We did a lot of work in here to hide the power window controls
02:28and the power door locks and all of the modern stuff
02:31and still make it look like a Volkswagen.
02:33All of the controls from the Dodge truck and the gauges
02:37are on a gauge pod that comes down from under the dash
02:40so that while you're driving it,
02:42you get all the information that you were getting from the Dodge truck.
02:45But when you park it and get out,
02:47it goes back up inside and you can't see it,
02:49so it still looks like a Volkswagen.
02:54The Dodge is an automatic transmission
02:57and the Volkswagens are manual transmissions.
02:59It has a simulated brake pedal in there and a clutch pedal,
03:03but they're actually both brake pedals.
03:05It looks like you'd push the clutch in and do the manual shift,
03:08but it's an automatic, so it's a nice and comfortable drive.
03:12My favourite thing is that it's not a prop.
03:14You can get in it and jump in it, it runs, it drives,
03:17it does all the stuff it's supposed to do.
03:19It's not just something that's big and shiny
03:21and sitting in the background like it is right now.
03:27The funnest thing for this is being on the freeway.
03:30People just chase you to try to get up next to it
03:33and then they almost run you off the road
03:35because they're not looking where they're going.
03:37And it will come as no surprise.
03:39This big bug attracts big bugs.
03:42There's quite a few offers on it that are standing
03:45that are humbling that people want to pay the kind of dollars
03:48they want to pay for something that we built and we love,
03:51but the Volkswagen's not going anywhere right now.
03:53Just when I see it, it just makes me smile.
04:09Volkswagen.