We’re always looking for new ways to spoil our Volkswagens, but it’s funny how VW accessories of old still remain popular today. Here’s 10 accessories that have their roots in the past but still have relevance now…

1.VW Toolkits

What use would an accessories brochure be without a toolkit? They were first offered in the 1950s by German manufacturer Hazet, their kit cleverly clipping into the Beetle’s spare wheel. Incidentally, Hazet’s ‘Tourist’ version came minus the ‘VW’ logo and is particularly popular with early Porsche owners. A simple way to date the kit is the ‘H’ in Hazet. If it’s lower case on the tools, it will be pre-1965. Toolkits were offered right through until the 1990s, but were never so elaborate or collectable.

2.Fresh air vents

We spotted these NOS air deflectors at a VW show this year and, despite all the goodies available for the Beetle, reckon they would still prove one of the most useful. They clip on the inside corner of a Beetle’s screen and funnel warm air up from the vent and direct it onto the screen to aid demisting. Clever or what?

3.Polished rear wing stoneguards

We have a love/hate relationship with these stainless rear wing embellishers which were available for the very first Beetles. They serve to protect the lower part of the rear wing from stone chips, but unless they are fitted properly can trap must and cause the bottom of the wing to rust out. You can still buy them today, in a variety of styles as here, including some in aluminium, to suit any era of Beetle.

4.Parcel tray

The Beetle, and Bus for that matter, was never endowed with much storage space at the front, which made the parcel tray a useful VW accessory for many. The early ones were made of cane and are highly sought after now, but there was a switch to plastic in the late Sixties. Ours here continues to be a best seller. Still very useful, even if we don’t necessary carry parcels in our cars these days.

5.Flower vases

Why not add some flora to your cabin with a flower vase? It’s got to be one of the most popular VW accessories ever, with the first ones being offered as dealer options by Karl Meier back in 1958. The trend was revived when the New Beetle came along in1997, the car coming with a bud vase as standard. They’re available in glass, ceramics – and even plastic.

6.Roof racks

Back to the storage theme with a handy VW accessory that could instantly transform your VW into a family holdall once a year come holiday time. The roof rack for VWs would have traditionally feature a metal frame with wooden slats. You can pick from a range of modern equivalent here. There was even a packaway model for Beetles back in the ‘60s. With later VW’s Swedish manufacturer Thule supplied roof racks and there were separate catalogues listing the various applications, which evolved into highly sophisticated roofrack ‘systems’ to carry just about anything. You can see our range here.

7.Wheels

The first thing many owners do to accessorise their VW is to fit different wheels. With early VWs, this wasn’t an official option, wheel embellishers and more sporty trims being the only way to smarten up your existing wheels. With the advent of the Golf, things became a bit more interesting, again, evolving into entire catalogues from the likes of German supplier BBS. There was even a ‘Teddy Bear’ design wheel offered as a main dealer accessory for the Mk3 Golf. Of course now the options are much wider, with everything from wider steel wheels to Fuchs replicas and alloys for later VWs available on here.

8.In-car entertainment

Blaupunkt, or ‘blue spot’ (indicating a mark of quality), was owned by Bosch until 2009 and supplied VW with its radios right up until the 1990s. Thereafter, a variety of other manufacturers were given a look in when it came to offering upgraded in-car entertainment, including Sony and Panasonic. Fitting a better sound system has always been important and even with the advent of smart phones, it still remains popular. For those with non DIN sized dashboard holes, check out our range of RetroSound car stereos, that are in keeping with the original look, but offer all the modern refinements.

9.Steering wheels

It probably wouldn’t occur to the owner of a new VW to fit a different steering wheel. However, a few years ago it was a popular VW accessory, especially when what appeared in the options brochures were direct spin offs from Volkswagen Motorsport. You can still have fun swapping over the wheel of your VW, whether it’s an early air-cooled model or a much later model – just take a look at what we’ve got here.

10.Mudflaps

Owners after a clean, factory look have always seen the appeal in fitting a set of mudflaps. Especially if they’ve got the VW or Wolfsburg emblem on them. We even do some with the EMPI logo here. As well as looking the part, they also perform a function – namely helping to keep your car clean. Front ones are especially useful in preventing gravel being kicked up by the front tyres and peppering the sills. At the rear on a Beetle or Bus, they are secured by an ‘L’ shaped bracket, on newer VWs they bolt to the wheelarch.

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage.