Okay we know it’s only a film but come on, admit it, however ludicrous it seems, it’s hard not to feel a pang of excitement when you sit down and watch an old DVD of Herbie weaving effortlessly through a field of ‘60s motor racing exotica. Yet for Italian racing driver and VW Heritage customer Antonio Lucente, the movie scene became reality when he took to the track in a 1965 race prepped Beetle, claiming a host of notable victories in the process…
Like a lot of us, Anthony fell in love with Herbie as a child and when he became successful on the racing circuit in Formula Junior, Formula Ford and Formula 3, he decided he’d like to make those epic racing scenes real by putting together a rather special Beetle that would spank the backsides of far more precious motorsport metal.
Having placed a ‘wanted’ ad in his local paper, a suitable candidate was duly sourced and work began transforming it into a credible race car which, as you can imagine, was no mean feat in itself and basically took two years of hard graft and mechanical ingenuity.
At the heart of the build is a jewel of an engine; a twin-port 1300cc given a major makeover by top Italian mechanic Antonio Russo, with the heads being ported and polished before being rebuilt with beefier valves, stronger springs, high compression pistons and a more lively camshaft. A big set of double bodied carbs supply the necessary air, while an additional cooler prevents the whole thing going pop. Meanwhile the gearbox had to be rebuilt with competition components and close ratio cogs, and by fitting a limited slip differential there’s no unnecessary loss of horses through wheel spin.
To cope with the extra torsional stress of track use, the body was reinforced and a six-point roll cage fitted while the interior was stripped with a single race pew replacing the stock ’65 perches. As you can see, the original dash layout has been transformed with a mahoosive tacho taking centre stage, accompanied by an oil pressure and temperature gauge.
Of course with all this going on, there was no way the stock stoppers would do, so a dual circuit master cylinder has been fitted along with aircraft grade flexible hoses – the original drums remain, albeit it with upgraded shoes. As for the rest of the running gear, a rear anti-roll bar has been fitted along with stiffer shocks and things stay on track thanks to semi-slick 185/70 15 rubber, to giving this historic Bug its Herbie-like handling prowess.
The end result is a head-turning track demon that’s easily capable of 170km/h (106mph) which has subsequently gone on to claim a number of notable victories on the historic race circuit including the 2013 GTS Class F championship and a hugely creditable second place in the Italian historic car series.
Maybe knowing this, the next time you watch Herbie overhaul a Ferrari or Maserati in the Love Bug, it won’t seem quite so unbelievable after all!
Ian