VW-Baja-Bug-Feature
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Here at OnAllCylinders, we strive to maintain a high level of journalistic integrity in an effort to bring you automotive tech stories and industry news in a professional, objective manner.

…until a totally righteous, super-gnarly VW Baja Bug ba-braaaaps! into the Summit Racing retail store parking lot while we’re standing nearby.

Then, of course, we lose all restraint and pour into the parking lot giggling like pre-teens.

Let’s go down the checklist of awesomeness here:

  • Bass boat candy paint
  • Roof-mounted KC HiLiTES
  • Tube bumpers
  • Suicide doors with shaved handles
  • Oversized tires
  • Bullet hole wheels with Wolfsburg center caps
  • Dual hi-rise carburetor snorkels
  • Winch
  • Hood-mount tachometer
  • Stinger exhaust
  • Quilted vinyl rocker panels

Seriously, the only thing that could possibly make this Beetle more awesome is Buddy Hackett behind the wheel.

Never heard of a “Baja Bug?” It’s what happens when you take a humble VW Beetle, strip it down, and convert it into a desert-streaking, hill-hopping dune buggy.

The practice started in the 1960s and soon sprouted a cottage industry, in which you could purchase fiberglass body parts, performance upgrades, and tons of other smile-inducing yee-haw accouterments.

Where we’re located in Northeast Ohio, you don’t see Baja Bugs much, so this Lot Shots was a bit like spotting a unicorn.

That said, we’re far better at identifying vintage Detroit muscle than we are at heavily-modified VWs.

The only thing we know for certain is that this Bug is all sorts of rad—if you are a Volkswagen pro, please tell us what you see in the comments below.

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VW-Baja-Bug-Rear-Driver-Side
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VW-Baja-Bug-Rear
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VW-Baja-Bug-Passenger-Side
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VW-Baja-Bug-Front
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VW-Baja-Bug-Front-Driver-Side
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VW-Baja-Bug-Chassis
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VW-Baja-Bug-Wheel
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VW-Baja-Bug-Engine
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Author: Paul Sakalas

Paul is the editor of OnAllCylinders. When he's not writing, you'll probably find him fixing oil leaks in a Jeep CJ-5 or roof leaks in an old Corvette ragtop. Thanks to a penchant for vintage Honda motorcycles, he spends the rest of his time fiddling with carburetors and cleaning chain lube off his left pant leg.