Imagine rocking up to a Dub show in this giant, brightly painted bus which towers 13ft tall and actually drives! It’s been custom built from a US fire tender and it’s been travelling around the States spreading a message of creativity, peace and inspiration…
‘Walter’ is the world’s largest VW bus – it’s a fully functional, road-going vehicle that’s the creation of a group free-thinking folk out in Arizona who want to spread the word that boundaries only really exist in the head, man, and that we can achieve anything we want with the right attitude… In fact, the message closely emulates that of the VW bus culture itself, encouraging people to get busy living their dreams, being creative and generally enjoying the ride. As it says on Walter’s site, “…there’s a lot of creativity to spread around and time is burning.”
Walter is the make of the 1963 fire truck upon which the mahoosive bus is based and a chap called Kirk Strawn had the idea of doing the conversion. Walter eventually broke cover in 2009, having taken six years to build, with various people applying their mechanical, artistic and lighting skills to come up with something that would basically astound wherever it went.
Obviously there’s not an air-cooled engine in sight. Instead, Walter is powered by a 330bhp Le Roi V8 with cool accessories including a 330 gallon water tank for the onboard misting system, a monster generator to power the 10,000 plus LED lights and even air conditioning for the inside…
We have to admit, the effect is stunning – especially at night when the light show kicks in. We reckon Ben Pon would have been impressed – and it certainly looks like it’s putting a smile on lots of faces as it trundles around schools, festivals and VW shows across the country.
It would sure be great to see it here in the UK sometime soon if there was a boat big enough to bring it across the pond! And get this, there’s a giant Beetle doing the rounds too. What the heck are they are feeding those things on?
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage