'73 1303 Beetle

When you decide to build a German look Bug with the intention of racing it, there is really only one model of Beetle that makes an ideal base: The 1303! Give it a load of modifications to the chassis and slot in a huge motor and you've got yourself a little animal.
Even the 1303 haters have to appreciate such a beast.
Reto Keeler, a 44-year-old dental technician from Switzerland, is responsible for the 1303 you see here. And given the fact that Switzerland has rather strict laws when it comes to modifying cars, he's done a pretty good job at making a potent concoction that still falls within the legal boundaries. Even better than that is the fact this is his first ever Beetle. True, his parents had owned a Beetle when he was young, but Reto hadn't gone down the route of VW ownership until much later in life - in 2000, in fact. This was after he had been in a car accident and bought the 1973 1303 as a cheap alternative. And that was it - no turning back!
Reto has a very precise take on life. "Nothing should remain original", he stated. "Everything has to be modified." Which kind of explains a lot about his 1303. Nothing has been left standard. His reasoning for his philosophy is down to his job. "As a dental technician I am always working with delicate materials and being very careful. Doing this day in, day out requires a little variation so I work on chunkier materials in my spare time, restoring old cars like Porsche 356s, Porsche 914s, a Ferrari Daytona, a Spyder 365 replica and a lot of fast Beetles. If I'm still hungry for action I take a fast ride out on my highly modified Trek Y22 mountain bike".