Hot Wheels has selected a 1956 Volkswagen Beetle as a finalist in the 2022 Legends Tour. Although this is the second Beetle selected for the semifinals, it is a unique, highly modified car nicknamed “Berlin Buick” and powered by a mid-mounted V8 engine.
Owner Rob Freeman drove from Syracuse, New York, to Southern California to participate in the 2022 Legends Tour’s Los Angeles stop. He told Hot Wheels that as a child he started toying with the idea of building a Beetle with a mid-engine. He began the project many years later by purchasing a 1956 oval-window model for $1,000 and ripping out the factory-fitted air-cooled flat-four engine.
He chose to power the Beetle with a Buick-sourced, 215-cubic-inch (3.5-liter) V8 because it’s an engine that’s relatively compact and light—these traits also explain why evolutions of these eight a long list of European cars have powered for decades, although Volkswagen has never used it. Mounted behind the front seats, in the space previously occupied by the rear seats, the V8 sends 300 horsepower to the massive rear wheels via a manual transmission. The list of customizations also includes a custom independent rear suspension system.
With the drivetrain sorted, Freeman turned his attention to the body. He lowered the roof by about four inches, removed the running boards, and went as far as installing the chrome side trim that came from a 1957 Buick. The exhaust system is one of the coolest tweaks to this Beetle: the V8 exhales through eight exhausts. (four per side) in the shape of the portholes that Buick fitted to some of its cars in the early 1950s.
Open the suicide doors, peek inside and you’ll see a steering wheel and dashboard parts donated by a 1949 Buick. Custom upholstery lines the seats, door panels, and floors, and the engine is installed just inches from the passengers.
Freeman’s Beetle will compete in one of the semifinals scheduled for later in 2022 for a chance to win the Hot Wheels catalog of 1/64 scale die-cast models, meaning it will make its way to your local toy store (and ultimately yours). agency) in the not-too-distant future. To win, it must fend off competition from a growing list of competitors, including a Porsche 928-based dragster with over 3,000 horsepower, a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle powered by a Volvo engine, and a turbodiesel-powered 1931 Dodge Rat Rod built. as a family project.
Some of the competition from the Berlin Buick will come from abroad. As this heavily modified beetle basked under the California sun, a jury including former Jaguar Land Rover designer Ian Callum chose a 1963 hot rod on Ford Anglia (pictured above) to represent the UK in the 2022 Legends Tour. It is called “The Misfit” and was built by Michael Charalambous. Powered by a BMW 3 Series supercharged engine, it is built on a custom chassis using Ford and Hillman Imp parts.