Phileas BUG

‘I was born in Germany in 1967 and moved to Graz, Austria shortly after.

I then spent a few months in Rimini, Italy, briefly returning to Graz before immigrating to California. In 2000, I relocated to Detroit and eventually, at 41-years old, retired to the UK in 2008.’ Ring any bells? I’d be amazed if it did! It sounds like the bio of somebody rather windswept and interesting, doesn’t it? It is, in fact a synopsis of the life of this California Look ’67 Beetle. Despite its accumulated mileage, both on the road and at sea, and worldly travels, it retains every single piece of metal it left Wolfsburg with 54 years ago. Okay, it’s had a tiny repair on the front apron due to mild accident damage – call it an invisible scar of a charmed life well lived.

The car may be original in terms of bodywork, but there it begins and ends. Feeling a little forlorn and unloved in San Leandro, California the Bug was