Off we go on the Beetle Sunshine Tour – Europe’s largest Beetle event for models old and new! For the tenth time fans of these vehicles are coming together on the Baltic coast to celebrate a big party revolving around the Beetle! Back again this year will be ‘Voice of Germany’ star Ole ‘Soul’ Feddersen, performing as a duo with Nathalie Dorra and band a Beetle song specially composed for the Sunshine Tour.
400 vehicles and up to 4,000 guests and spectators make their way annually to the fan meet on the Baltic, which thus gets bigger and better known from year to year. So that there is sufficient space for all the Beetles, the tour is for the first time starting this year from Lübeck Airport. The trip finishes in Brügmanngarten in Travemünde. In addition to live music from the Urban Beach band, Projekt Caramba and DJ, Ole Feddersen and band will be appearing again this year. He and Nathalie Dorra are members of Udo Lindenberg’s ‘Panik Familie’ and were involved among other projects with the successful ‘MTV Unplugged Udo Lindenberg – Live from the Hotel Atlantic’ production.
However, the real stars of the party are the fans and their cult cars. Of the hundreds of curvaceous Volkswagens from six decades at the privately organised fan fest one will be voted ‘Most Beautiful Beach Beetle’ of them all. Special features of the Sunshine Tour include the get-ups of not only of the participants, but of the cars as well. Be it Glamour Beetle, Crochet Beetle, Rock ‘n Roll Beetle or Beach Beetle, there is a free choice of theme and coming up with the most original interpretation is key to winning the title. “It always thrills me to see the great creativity and passion that the participants put into designing their vehicles,” says Gaby Kraft, the meet’s organiser.
Volkswagen has been an official event partner since 2005 and will be present again over the weekend of 15th – 17th August with a number of special vehicles. Cars on show will include the Beetle Dune, the concept Cross version of the Beetle and the recently launched Beetle Cabrio Karmann. Another real eye-catcher will be the GRC Rallycross Beetle. A 544 PS four-wheel drive car that has been developed in conjunction with Andretti Autosport for the American GRC race series. It will be making its debut in the championship in Los Angeles from 19th – 20th September. Incidentally, the racer needs just 2.1 seconds to accelerate up to 100 km/h.
Volkswagen R GmbH and Volkswagen accessories will also be there featuring the latest lifestyle collection.
So if any of you who are based in Europe, interested drivers of Beetles old or new can secure a starting place in the tour online at www.beetle-sunshinetour.de, where it is also possible to view the complete programme, which begins on the Friday evening, 15th August, from 6 pm on the Brügmanngarten festival lawns in Travemünde.
