Look out folks, here comes the alien Rat Rod Beetle from hell. An unholy union of front mounted Japanese motorcycle engine, right hand drive and heavily mutated Volkswagen exoskeleton. Autoholics has a video proving such a beast exists.
Brought to life by the guys at Hudlow Axle down in Rossville, GA, they started out with a 1967 Beetle body, mercilessly chopped and channeled it, and then mated it to a tubular space frame with custom front and rear suspension.
Then it gets really crazy. A 185 HP four cylinder engine from a Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle is bolted in up front with a six-speed manual and a fuel cell placed in the trunk er, I mean engine compartment. Ferdinand Porsche must be rolling over in his grave…
Sprayed out black with graphics on the doors, it’s slammed so hard it barely clears the pavement and looks super bad with Halibrands and slicks that almost clear the roof. The rod weighs a mere 1200 lbs and lays rubber and drifts with ease. When this Beetle hits the street, the neighbors aren’t quite sure what to think when Darth Vader’s dune buggy comes speeding by.
What a great canvas for the Rat Rod treatment. Essentially a “fat fendered” car with running boards, Vee Dubs are cheap, plentiful and easy to work on. Other guys have plied the chopped VW thing but this Rat Rod Beetle is a new benchmark in “so wrong, it’s right.”
