1958 Turbo'd VW Beetle

When we asked 28-year old Damien, from Limal in Belgium, how he’d got into VWs, we got an answer that’s become all too familiar with owners of Belgian hard-core Cal Look Bugs: “I started to hang out with some people who were a very bad influence on me... the DAS in Waterloo!” For the benefit of our newer readers and older ones with short memories, the DAS are the Der Autobahn Scrapers – a club that I think it’s fair to say are the most dedicated and proactive California Look club outside of the US. From inauspicious beginnings as a group of teenagers in the mid-late ’90s with a handful mild Lookers, this bunch of increasingly enthusiastic VW nuts has grown into a veritable task force, and have put as much back into the scene as they have thoroughly enjoyed taking out. What other club do you know of that has its own off-road division, runs its own hugely popular Drag Days and organises its own show – the much talked about European Bug-In. And the club cars – most of which have transformed over the years into full house Cal Lookers with stroker motors – are second to none.

But this latest one is a bit different from the norm, in that where most have dual 48IDA induction, Damien’s has just a single carb. Not one of those pokey Solexes mind, but one mother of a 50mm sidedraft Weber. And in case you hadn’t noticed, the reason for just the one carb is the presence of a turbocharger between it and the rest of the engine.

However, although it’s a potent cocktail, in reality this is just a stop-gap car as Damien has got the Bug bad, real bad, and is in the process of building a full on Pro Turbo-style racecar out of a ’53 Oval. Those with really good memories might even recall the car he’s building it out of – Philipe Fonseca’s drab olive green, high riding, off-road Oval (one of the original cars in the aforementioned DAS off-road division and featured in VolksWorld many years ago). Inspired by US racecars and the beautifully detailed cars of Frenchman Rudi Olivenca’s – in particular his New Beetle Pro Turbo project – Damien is putting everything into this new car. Trouble is, it’s also taking a long time to complete, so what better interim project to keep up your enthusiasm than a turbo street car?

For the full story check out the February 2009 issue of VolksWorld magazine. On sale on 29 December and then available through back issues.

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