With production of the Volkswagen Beetle having ended this month, distributors, clubs and fans of the ‘Bug’ have been organising events and other activities to say farewell. In Malaysia, besides offering limited edition models, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) brought together Beetle owners from around the country.
The owners of 405 Beetles of the three generations since 1938 came together at the event entitled ‘The Beetle, An Iconic Gathering’, which was held at Putrajaya.
Convoy through the city
The celebration kicked-off early yesterday morning with a convoy of 138 Beetles making their way through the streets of Kuala Lumpur before heading to Putrajaya. It was a colourful parade with many of the cars uniquely customised to reflect the personalities of their owners.
Erik Winter, Managing Director of VPCM, expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the owners who had come from as far north as Perlis and also from Johor Bahru for joining the special event.
“It was an emotional moment for us to see the rows and rows of colourful air-cooled and water-cooled Beetle cars and I believe all those who were present shared this sentiment,” he said. “This is a car that has united people across all walks of life, and they all gathered in Putrajaya over one common passion – the Beetle. The sense of kinship was apparent everywhere, and we are grateful to all owners, and especially to our Beetle car clubs and classic Volkswagen communities for making the event a success.”
“This is a car that has united people across all walks of life, and they all gathered in Putrajaya over one common passion – the Beetle.”
Erik Winter, Managing Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia
The outstanding Beetles
Out of the hundreds of Bugs present, three cars stood out from the crowd and were awarded ‘Best in Show’, while one Beetle, which garnered the most popular vote on social media, won ‘Most Liked Car’. The winners of the ‘Best in Show’ cars were Fairul Irwan, Raja Gopal and Thavanesan a/l Selvaratnam, while Siti Aishah Ismail’s Instagram posting of her Bug earned the ‘Most Liked Car’ title.
On display at the event was the Collector’s Edition Beetle, launched in Malaysia just one day after the last Beetle rolled out from the production line at Volkswagen’s factory in Mexico. It comes with accessories worth up to RM12,000, and each of the 75 units is priced at RM164,390. Besides an exclusive emblem in the car to identify it, each owner will receive an official Collector’s Edition certificate of ownership.
For more information, visit www.volkswagen.com.my .
