The World's Largest VW Bug Is Even Bigger Than A Hummer, And Looks Like The Real Deal
Have you noticed how father-and-son teams have gone viral recently? For instance, a dotting Vietnamese dad built his son a miniaturized Lamborghini Sian roadster using discarded wood from fallen trees. What's impressive is it only took him 65 days to make the entire thing from scratch, and it can reach up to 15 mph (25 kph) using a small electric motor.
However, a particular father-and-son team in Gardena, California, made something better. Tired of being dwarfed by larger cars on California's many scenic highways, Scott Tupper and his dad reimagined a VW Bug unlike anything we've seen before. No, we're not talking about converting a classic VW Beetle into an EV.
Instead, Tupper's VW Bug is bigger than a Hummer, yet looks exactly like the genuine article. Lovingly called the "Huge Bug," this giant classic Beetle has more room, plenty of usable power, and heaping doses of feel-good retro vibes.
Giant VW Bug with pickup underpinnings
In an exclusive YouTube video by Barcroft Cars, Scutt Tupper explained the reasoning for how the "Huge Bug" became a reality. "The Bug is a great car, but it's very small," said Tupper. "My dad and I just thought it would be nice to have a comfortable VW and not fear that we would get run over by traffic." The father-and-son combo initially decided to make a 50% bigger VW bug, but they soon found out that doing so would make their behemoth illegal on California's streets.
They returned to the drawing board and decided on a 40% larger scale as the magic ratio. Next, they took their existing 1959 VW Beetle Cabriolet and scanned the entire vehicle to create digital renditions of each body panel. Then, they had to dismantle the whole car to make everything 40% bigger. Finally, they used all the computer data to build templates before fabricating each supersized component and body panel to scale.
The original VW Bug is less than 161-inch long (4.079 mm), so the duo had to find a donor chassis big enough to stay true to their ambitions. They found out that an old Dodge truck and its ladder-frame chassis were perfect for the cause, but they didn't just take the frame and call it a day.
This giant Beetle has V8 power
The classic VW Bug's air-cooled pancake engine is one of the reasons why the Beetle is an ideal first car for novice drivers, teenagers, or youngsters looking to polish their engine-building skills. There are no complicated electronics or OBD2 trouble codes to consider, and a skilled group of mechanics could remove the engine from the car in about 20 minutes using essential hand tools.
Since we're dealing with a supersized VW Beetle, Scott Tupper and his dad made the right move by outfitting the giant Bug with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 from their Dodge pickup donor car. As a result, the Tuppers created a rear-wheel-drive VW muscle car that could probably do awesome burnouts with a twitchy right foot.
Despite its muscular engine, this build is not all about screeching tires and noise. Instead, the father-and-son team went the extra mile to craft a hand-bitingly gorgeous interior that stays true to the classic Beetle's minimalist approach.
Standard creature comforts
The Tuppers built the "Huge Bug" to drive daily, not as a car show or museum ornament. With that in mind, they gave it the necessary creature comforts to make it a habitable daily driver. It has air conditioning, power steering, and ventilated seats. "A Volkswagen with A/C is kinda nice," said Tupper. The car also has power-operated door locks and power windows, but the Tuppers were gracious enough to hide the window switches to prevent ruining the cabin's vintage style.
However, the pièce de resistance of "Huge Bug" is a gauge pod that electronically lowers from the dashboard. It houses the controls and gauges of the Dodge truck so the driver can see the engine speed, vehicle speed, and fuel gauges while driving. When parked, the gauge pod rises into obscurity behind the dashboard to retain a classic Beetle appearance.
We could only imagine the ingenuity, fabrication work, and engineering smarts that went into building Huge Bug. The Tuppers managed to get their dream car without sacrificing the cool factor of VW's iconic people's car.