TorqueVW

1. Why and when did you purchase this car?

March 2009, I needed a daily driver and had always had classic Vws (bar a couple) till this point. A friend of mine had this for sale, I went for a test drive and thought “this is nice, why not?” .

2. Did you always intend this to be a project?

No. When I bought the car I fully intended it to be a daily driver as I had a T25 camper at the time. But the more I drove the car the more I liked it and the more it got modified, I never have a car standard for long.

3. Have you owned any other VW’s?

Plenty. 3 air-cooled beetles including one 14 second ¼ mile car, 2 bay window buses, 1 mk4 Golf gt tdi, 1 Golf Mk1 triple black cab, 1 Audi 80 avant Tdi, 2 T25 campers. And I’ve worked on countless others.

4. What other cars have you owned?

Not many apart from that. Odd Fiesta but that’s really it.

5. Have you owned any other unusual cars?

Not really.

6. Is this car your daily driver? (If not, what is?)

Yes, every single day to work and back.

7. Would you call yourself a VW Enthusiast?

Addicted more like it.

8. When did you start modifying this car?

As soon as it got it really.

9. Did you have any particular style in mind when you started modifying this car?

I am a rally slag at heart so always end up having a race style theme on my cars. I can’t help it, just always ends up that way.

10. Who & what has inspired you to do the things you have?

Tbh, the only inspiration had been the fact that no-one else seems to modify the new beetle in any other way but retro or kitsch.

11. Have you had help building this car?

The missus, and Ray at Rayvern for the suspension.

12. Did you have any problems tuning this car?

Apart from a couple of niggles, not really.

13. Are you happy with your car?

I’m never happy with it, I’ve always got more plans for it .

14. What are your future plans for this car?

Wheels to be powdercoated white, vinyl wrap, supercharger/turbo/engine conversion. Plus a million more ideas that pop into my head.

15. If you could wind the clocks back what would you change?

Nothing.

16. Do you enter this car into shows?

If so, what shows and what results? I go to shows but more because I enjoy them, if I win anything it’s a bonus. The only award so far was at Evvo’s annual meet, “best modified beetle”.

17. Have you had other car projects?

If so, what? My main one was the 14 second aircooled daily driver. I wanted to prove that a quick bug could be daily driven if needed and for 6 months I did.

18. Do you have any projects coming up?

None at the moment.

19. Do you owe anyone thanks for this car?

The missus for being patient, Ray at Rayvern for the million questions and listening. A few mates for helping when needed.

20. Performance figures for your car?

Stock.

21. What advice would you give others who are thinking of modifying their own car?

Do it and don’t think about what’s “cool”, do it because you like it.

22. What’s the best feature of your car?

The air-ride and centre console. I love both of them as they represent what can be done with just a bit of thought.

Owner Information :

Name: Darren Butterworth

Occupation: Slaes (boring)

Club Affiliations: none.

Vehicle Information:

Year: 2001

Make: VW new Beetle

Model: 2.0

Mileage: 138000

Original Color: Techno blue

Current Color: same

Engine: 2.0

Engine Modifications: K&N induction. Sprayed engine cover

Exhaust Modifications: none

Transmission Modifications: none

Suspension Modifications: Rayvern air-ride kit

Brake Modifications: none

Wheels and Tires: mk5 gti replicas

Exterior/Body Modifications: spoiler, stripes, plates, surrounds. Lots of small things

Interior Modifications: mk4 gti seats, mk4 gti steering wheel, chrome bits, rayvern billet gauges, sprayed dash and centre console, head unit, floor in boot with sub

Audio/Video/I.C.E: Blaupunkt Casablanca headunit, jbl 10” sub in custom floor, mac audio amp.

Thanks/Props: The missus for understanding (I sold the camper to fund the suspension) and Ray @ Rayvern for answering a million questions.