Volkswagen is electrifying classic VW Beetles

We better hope so when it comes to top speed. A decades old Beetle at 150 km/hr is a scary thought.

2 Likes
3 Likes

Recycling at it’s finest… although you got to do something with the old engine parts, I suppose…

1 Like

It’s so cute! Look at it!

sailor-moon-cute

4 Likes

Errrr…

I think I can’t recall nobody calling Gurgel cars cute…

When I was a kid I remember reading (about 40 years ago) that Lockheed had an idea for a hydrogen-fueled TriStar. They’d had to have lengthened the fuselage, then use about half of that for storing the hydrogen.


(The grey parts are fuel tanks) :arrow_up:

3 Likes

But… look at it! So boxy and tiny! It’s a little trapezoid on 2 wheels! Maybe it’s a terrible car, but SOOOOO CUTE!!!

And look what the doors do!

image

Seriously, I’ve seen kids toy electric cars that a bigger…

5 Likes

Reminds me of how John Glenn described the Mercury capsule: “You don’t get into it, you put it on.”

6 Likes

I have two friends had two different cars, two different models of Gurgel cars. Well, they sounded to me like mobile sewing machines. But they loved their cars! I think that after all, it was what mattered.

2 Likes

I got a pretty good chunk of change recycling an unusable aluminum engine block. Iron block, not so much.

1 Like

Ah yes. Hydrogen powered flying machines.

I feel like we tried that once.

5 Likes

Of course, if you really want small, there’s always the Peel P50:

It and its bigger brother, the Peel Trident, are once again being made in both gasoline and electric versions (but at a ridiculous price). The electric gets a whopping 15 miles per charge.

3 Likes

Turbonique made a rocket powered turbine axle for the Beetle in the 60s that would do just that.

3 Likes

And these:

VW engine and gearbox. There are quite a lot of these in Australia; a local company has been making them for decades. The guy who runs it is an old biker who ended up as a wheelchair user after a spinal injury.

6 Likes

I like the looks of this one:


It looks like it’s pretending to be a military vehicle but at the same time has that “scared hamster” look some Renault Twingo models had.
It’s weirdness reminds me of old LuAZ cars that were made in eastern Europe:

2 Likes

So, I’m putting the Gurgel Itaipu in one pocket and the Peel P50 in the other…

well, that’s not very useful unless you live close to all the things you need.

Hm. Seems like all metals should be more easily recyclable, but as long as it’s cheaper to make new, that won’t be the case.

1 Like

Oh, the iron block is recyclable, but you might only get pocket change for 300 lbs of metal, vs $150 for 100 lbs of aluminum.

1 Like

Actually, I have a friend in Florida who owns one of those.

1 Like

That’s hardly worth the effort… but the free market at work, eh?

2 Likes

There’s hardly even any latinum in an old Chevy V8!

2 Likes