1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle "Rolls-Royce"

I believe this Volkswagen Super Beetle is a 1974 model, the first year to feature the larger 5-mph bumpers and the last year to feature the original muffler design with twin tailpipes. This was the penultimate year for the Super Beetle sedan, but that is not all that makes this particular car noteworthy. This Super Beetle has been fitted with a body kit to make it resemble a Rolls-Royce, with an upright grille and quad headlights in the front and an imitation "Continental kit" on the rear.

There were several manufacturers of these "Rolls-Royce" kits, and I have no idea which kit this is, but it is a fairly extensive one with the hood, front fenders, and decklid all being replaced, though the rear fenders appear to have remained original, which was not the case with all of these kits. Rolls-Royce was not amused by these conversions and sued at least one manufacturer of these kits. This kit may have been a later one as the grills has no emblem or hood ornament as some kits did, perhaps in an attempt to avoid potential copyright infringement lawsuits, or perhaps the owner merely chose to omit them. In any case, it is a distinctive car that certainly attracts attention. It attracted mine in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in December of 2001.