Porsche Boxster + vintage Volkswagen Bug = Bugster

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Porsche, Volkswagen, Specialty

1973 Volkswagen Bugster

1973 Volkswagen Bugster – Click above for high-res image gallery

This is a melding of two seemingly very different cars we can get behind. The melding of one car’s running gear and another’s body isn’t a new practice, but so often it turns out terribly. Need an example? Check out the dozens of F-Body Chevrolet Camaro coupes with 4×4 running gear that haunt the depths of the world’s internet forums.

This isn’t a hack job, this is is the sort of hybrid we can throw our enthusiastic support behind. The body started life atop a humble 1973 Volkswagen Beetle chassis, while the running gear saw duty under a 2000 Porsche Boxster convertible’s skin. The car was created by Siegfried Rudolf, who owns CarMaxx, an Austrian company that restores and customizes Porsche and Volkswagen cars.

Rudolf apparently got the idea after parking his restored Beetle next to his wife’s Boxster and noted a striking similarity in their wheelbases. After countless hours with a measuring tape, a Sawzall and a welder, Rudolf had the Bugster, a mid-engined 270-horsepower 1973 VW Beetle.

From off, the car looks like a nicely restored, slightly modified Bug. Up close, though, the enormous side vents, 18-inch wheels and Porsche dashboard start to hint at this thing’s dirty little secret. The car sports custom fenders to properly cover its wider track and wheels, and the whole set up rides on a fully-adjustable suspension. Delicious. Thanks for the tip, Rui!

Gallery: 1973 Volkswagen Bugster

1973 Volkswagen Bugster1973 Volkswagen Bugster1973 Volkswagen Bugster1973 Volkswagen Bugster1973 Volkswagen Bugster

[Source: Bugster via FirstSuperCars]

Porsche Boxster + vintage Volkswagen Bug = Bugster originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Triumph Street Triple goes bug-eyed

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Motorcycle

2012 Triumph Street Triple

2012 Triumph Street Triple – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’ve been waiting to see Triumph translate some of the more impressive changes the company made to its Speed Triple this year to the more modest Street Triple and Street Triple R, wait no more. The bike maker has dropped a few photos and details on the 2012 model-year and it should come packing updates borrowed from its bigger brother. Those include a startling pair of new headlights, aluminum handle bars and engine case cover. Speaking of the mighty three cylinder nestled between the frame, Triumph has dialed up the power to 106 ponies and 50 pound-feet of torque.

There’s no word on whether Triumph was able to shave any weight from the bike, but the three-pot should have no problem moving both rider and machine down the road in a hurry. Asphalt & Rubber reports that prices for the 2012 model are the same in France, which means the company may keep the MSRP flat for American buyers as well.

Gallery: 2012 Triumph Street Triple

2012 Triumph Street Triple

[Source: Asphalt & Rubber]

2012 Triumph Street Triple goes bug-eyed originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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