When you think of Baja bugs, what’s the first place you think of? Michigan, in the middle of February, right? Yeah, OK, not so much. But that’s exactly what I have for you today. Neither one has very much Volkswagen left in it, but they both look the part.
Yesterday we looked at a customized van and a ruined Mercedes. Unsurprisingly, even for nearly twice the price, the van took an easy win. That Mercedes-turned-El-Camino (or “Das Straße” as someone suggested) just looks wrong, poorly-done, and like a giant headache to sort out. The van just needs a paint job, if you’re not into the whole patina thing.
I do like patina, but I don’t think it’s the way to go for a custom van. This thing wants to be shiny, and it wants a borderline-offensive mural on the side. And personally, I’m not too fond of the shag carpet either. Tearing it out and replacing it with Pergo, like so many houses from the ’70s have had done, sounds a lot more hygienic.
There is possibly no more frivolous vehicle than a dune buggy. It’s a lightweight vehicle designed to go fast across sand for no other reason than that the sand is there. It’s a pure form of motoring joy, a car that only exists to be fun. Most dune buggies can trace their roots to the Volkswagen Beetle, and the simplest form is just a Beetle with all the extra stuff removed from the corners to make room for bigger tires – the fabled “Baja bug.” The two we’re going to look at today maintain the appearance of a Beetle, but under the skin there’s nothing Volkswagen about them. Let’s take a look.
2002 Volkswagen New Beetle, sort of – $26,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2 -liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Midland, MI
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: “Ready to race over any terrain”
The Volkswagen New Beetle, introduced in 1998, doesn’t really have anything in common with the original except its name and a passing resemblance. It’s based on the Golf platform, with the drivetrain in the front, and built on a unibody structure – exactly the wrong setup for turning it into a Baja bug. But that didn’t stop the intrepid builder of this car. What we have here appears to be a New Beetle unibody center section with a custom tube frame and roll cage built into it.
The engine isn’t in the front anymore, and it isn’t a VW engine, either. It’s a GM Ecotec 2.2-liter inline four, mated to a Beetle-style transaxle driving the rear wheels. It has custom long-travel suspension and four-wheel disc brakes. The seller says it was “built right” and runs great.
There isn’t much New Beetle left inside; all I can see that looks original is the inside door handle. Instead, we get racing seats with five-point harnesses, bare aluminum floors, and a bank of purposeful-looking toggle switches. It’s probably not the most comfortable thing ever, but this isn’t a “cruise to the ice cream shop” sort of car. It’s more of a “get in, sit down, shut up, and hang on” sort of car.
I wouldn’t have thought the New Beetle shape would work this well as a Baja bug, but this thing looks pretty cool. The rear fenders are entirely gone, replaced with thin aluminum flanges. The whole front clip looks like a plastic or fiberglass piece, so this must be a common enough thing to do that someone is making parts to do it. And I think I see a license plate frame on the back, which would mean this thing is street-legal. Probably still titled as a 2002 Beetle, too.
2015 Polaris RZR XP 1000 with 1969 VW body – $12,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.0-liter DOHC inline 2, CVT automatic, 4WD
Location: St. Johns, MI
Odometer reading: 7,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Traditional dune buggies have taken a back seat recently to side-by-sides, small utility vehicles which were originally intended for work, but have morphed into off-road toys. Side-by-sides aren’t built for road use, but in some places you can register them for the street if you make a few modifications. This Polaris RZR has been modified so it can be used on the road like a car – and in a ghoulish twist, it wears the skin of an old car, too.
The RZR is powered by a 999 cc twin, driving all four wheels through a CVT, which makes it easy to drive. Just throw it in gear and mash the pedal down. Maybe too easy, actually; I had no idea until I looked it up that these things are rocking over a hundred horsepower. I would have guessed more like 50-60. The seller says it’s “all sorts of fun,” and I believe it.
There isn’t much to the interior of a side-by-side, but of course it has cup holders. That’s not one of the requirements to make it street-legal, but a windshield, a horn, a rearview mirror, seat belts, and lights are. Note the giant “oh shit” handle in front of the passenger seat; if that’s how your passenger is supposed to stay in place, then I think seat belts are a much better idea.
Only parts of the Beetle shell fit onto the RZR’s roll cage: the cowl/windshield, doors, and door sills are about all that made the cut. The front end looks like a fiberglass piece from an old Baja bug kit, the sort of thing JC Whitney used to sell. And the whole thing is coated in truck bedliner. It’s durable, I suppose, but I’d rather have seen shiny paint on it.
My guess is that neither one of these has a heater, which makes them essentially useless this time of year. The temperature here in central Michigan has been hovering in the teens for a couple of weeks now. But come summertime, you could have a lot of fun with either of them. One is a purpose-built machine created from unlikely source material, and the other is a fairly standard side-by-side wearing a classic Baja bug body. Which one seems like a better modern take on the old formula?
I’m going out on a limb and saying the new beetle isn’t entirely built from scratch.
The whole 2.2 ecotec hanging out the back like that is exactly the setup from a more conventional bodied off road buggy that features in the Forza Horizon games.
It had a manufacturer and model name and everything, but I can’t remember!
Definitely the “New Beetle”. I don’t get the point of adding the weight of a car body to a Razr. Plus I hate automatics.
I would infinitely prefer a real Beetle-pan-based Baja Bug to either.
The RZRs are incredibly fun and capable, but do suffer from a soulless appearance. The 69 Bug… not my first choice but it’s still cuter than the original and … funny if you’re still 7 like me.
Let’s be honest this is a Sophie’s choice of which girl do I want to bring home at closing time? Your best bet is that no matter which one you choose your credit card gets declined and you go home alone.
I never went home with an ugly woman but I have woken up next to a few.
Hey I kid
I love that line describing a dune buggy as a Beetle with all the extras removed. As if the Beetle has extra stuff. But while I’d take one of those I’m not paying close to $30k for a scrapbook of parts and the wrong VW Body. Give me the Razr.
Neither but the new beetle is kinda neat I guess. Just trying to get out close to what they have into them probably not too realistic especially in this economy.
That RZR is way too much money for a beat up go-cart. The new beetle at least appears to have the parts to make it almost worth the cost. I’ll go with that if I have to pick one.
The craftsmanship on the new Beetle looks pretty impressive, especially compared to the RZR. I don’t have a use case for either of these, but a SxS is something that could be fun for a season and then easier to resell. I was going to say “flip, “but didn’t want to give the wrong impression.
I wouldn’t spend my actually money on either, but the new Beetle looks pretty well built and a whole lot of fun. The rzr seems kind of clapped out for that money.
FYI, IIRC there’s some pretty legit sand dunes (like Pismo) somewhere in MI, so these living there might actually make sense.
Yep, Silver Lake Sand dunes are located in Mears Michigan.
I have seen Subaru 360 shells on RZR’s. it gave the things doors and windows from something that was never going to be made road legal again, so it did not seem like the worst thing to do. and certainly the result was in fact safer to drive on the street than the old 360. I am not sure an OG bug is much better than the 360 as far as safety goes, but I have to think it was at least near the end in the US?
Hard neither for me. I just don’t have any use for either one. Someone else could have a blast with them, though.
Neither man. Neither.
Looks like 2 neithers in a row.
I’ll add the RZR to my internet garage. It’s likely going to be useful while whimsical. I’d paint it a more cheerful color of Rustoleum like harlequin. The cage already got going with that part. The New Beetle build is too extra for me.
Mark, these things have had car-like horsepower for years. The top dog RZR has a 225 hp inline 4, IIRC. It’s about as nutty as personal watercraft that have had 200 plus horsepower for decades by now.
Oh hell naw
You can’t have a Kei car, a vehicle designed for on-road transportation, but you can have this schijt monstrosity of a side-by-side with grafted-on trash for commuting to work.
Because, safety?
well that thing might actually be safer with the roll cage, but hard to say. the real reason is that this thing probably rocks the vin of the shell and in some areas and in whole states that is all you need to get a license plate.
They would likely get hassled in an urban area, but as long as the thing had the windshield and all lights functioning, I am not sure it could be impounded like that.
Different states have different requirements for operating a side by side on the road. In South Carolina they include: not to be operated on roads with greater than 45 mph speed limit, able to run at a minimum of 35 mph, lights including turn signals.
But the Razr has more HP and is safer.
The Polaris is less and feels less like someone’s passion project. Whoever built that Beetle was really committed, but it’s not a lot like the vintage Baja Bugs.
I don’t envy our esteemed Mr. Tucker’s assignment every week.
Mostly because I’m pretty easy to please, but I don’t like the direction this week’s choices are taking.
Anyway, for the record: Neither, and I don’t really want to ever see either of these things in the wild nor on the street.
Yes it is a tough job it’s not like he has the entire planet of used cars to choose from. I’d love to see foreign comparison but we seem to always get the same type vehicles in the same states.
I vote neither.
I have no need for either of these, but I salute the builders and I’m glad they exist.
The New Beetle looks like it would pop a wheelie every time you mashed the throttle unless both seats were occupied by folks who were, at a minimum, Wisconsin skinny.
The Polaris is (probably) better balanced and it’s cheaper. It gets my Internet dollars today.
I don’t even find joy in knowing they exist.
RZR because it’s sillier and doesn’t have a third of its mass hanging behind the rear axle. That said, when I move to da Nort’woods or da UP so I can drive it on public roads, do I admit to my thrifty neighbors that I paid $12k for it?
The RZR cosplaying as a Baja Bug offends me on a spiritual level and I refuse to reward it even if it is probably the more practical machine.
I like the Baja New Beetle so it gets my vote. I wouldn’t pay $26k for it, but there is a price at which I would be interested in owning this car.
As for the Polaris, I have no idea why you would put a partial VW Beetle body on an RZR. That is just plain weird. It doesn’t make it any better, but it does make it heavier and kind of ugly.
Pass, I’d rather go find an actual BajaBug.
I applaud both builders even if I’m horrified by their creations. This is the second day in a row I want a neither button. Since the side by side seems less Frankensteined together (somehow) I went that direction.
These are suicide machines, but I am intrigued by those toggle switches so “New Beetle” it is.