2006 Volkswagen New Beetle

(from Volkswagen Press Release)  Herbie’s on the road again. His new object of affection, a New Beetle, has been made-over in Hollywood style for him: Volkswagen has given it a face lift. Not too much, but, true to Hollywood, a subtle touch-up with new lights and light surrounds, an improved performance TDI engine and a slightly more streamlined shape. The new Beetle is available to order immediately and will go on sale at the end of August.

The new film adventure “Herbie fully loaded” will be shown in cinemas across Germany from 4 August. To mark this occasion, Disney and Volkswagen are calling for the biggest Herbie parade in the world on 30 July on Berlin’s showpiece street, “Straße des 17.Juni”, and are asking for active support from all Beetle drivers. All those who take part in the parade will receive free entry to the German premiere of “Herbie fully loaded”, including show programme, on the same evening at the Berlin Waldbühne. If the world record is achieved, it will be entered in the “Guinness Book of Records”. All those who are interested in participating, please contact the hotline 01805 – 106677 (open from 08.00 to 22.00 daily) or go to www.herbie-parade.de.

Herbie is saved from the scrap yard by Maggie Peyton (played by 18-year old US teen star Lindsay Lohan). Just like old times, they leave the competition behind after lots of hard work and by putting up a good fight, with Herbie falling in love with a sunflower yellow New Beetle halfway through. This storyline means that there would be enough material for sequels in the future. First of all however, Volkswagen has made sure that Herbie's love interest has been spruced up in real life.

New shape

At first glance, you notice the sharp lines of the wings and bumper elements, which make the new version look more dynamic. The designers have also changed the lights slightly. The front turn signals are smaller and the clear glass headlights have a more oval shape. The tail lights signal the changes to the appearance with a white circle inside a red circle. The VW emblems on the bonnet and tailgate have also been modified and a new colour and wheel range with 16 and 17 inch alloy wheels offer both “Herbie's new flame” and New Beetle buyers new, fashionable design options.

More chrome and new equipment packages

The interior has shiny chrome on the air vents and around the instrument cluster and there is a new collection of fabrics for the seat covers. The optional real leather CD pockets and programmable garage door opener under the sun visor give the vehicle a touch of class. As every woman knows, the key is to accessorise, accessorise, accessorise; this also applies to cars.

There five engines available to choose from: ranging from the 1.4 litre petrol engine with 55 kW (75 PS) to the improved performance 77 kW (105 PS) 1.9 litre TDI engine. The “Exclusive” and “Premium” equipment packages offer lots of extras and an impressive price advantage of up to €2 000. Speaking of prices: as usual, they start at €16 050 for the New Beetle and €20 320 for the New Beetle Cabrio.