VW Gives Vegas a Dose of Beetle Mania [2012 SEMA Show]

Volkswagen is celebrating this year’s SEMA show by reintroducing Beetle Mania to Las Vegas. The gang from Wolfsburg has brought six Beetles to the show, allowing a number of tuners to have their way with the latest VW icon. Follow the jump to check out the photos and more details from all of VW’s SEMA show cars.

VWvortex Super Beetle

Using the Golf R‘s all-wheel-drive platform, our friends at VWvortex have teamed up with APR to boost horsepower of the Beetle’s 2.0-liter turbo four to more than 500 hp in the Super Beetle you see above. The engine was extensively modified with high-strength connecting rods, bearings, pistons, and wrist pins. There is a high-flow cylinder head and intake manifold, a modified fuel system, a hi-po intercooler, and an upgraded ECU. Boost is provided from an APR Stage IV GTX turbocharger. The engine is mated to a manual transmission. The Super Beetle’s powertrain is matched by an H&R adjustable coil-over suspension, H&R motorsport bushings, H&R sport sway bars, and H&R front uprights designed for the Audi TT RS.

The Super Beetle’s interior is relatively modest, with Recaro sports seats as the biggest eye-catcher. Its exterior is covered in a Matte Azure Blue Metallic wrap and accentuated by 19-inch wheels. In what could be interpreted as a nod to the Beetle and Porsche 911′s common roots, VWvortex has designed a body kit with front and rear fascias that take styling cues directly from the Porsche 911 GT3; the Super Beetle lettering on the tailgate resembles that classic Porsche lettering as well.

Rotiform Beetle

Tuner Rotiform is going for a classic, customized look with large, concave wheels colored in red. Mirrors are glossy black, and a chrome strip is applied to the lower part of the doors. An air suspension system and a re-engineered rear axle are added in order to allow the Beetle to lay-frame. A Matte Gray Aluminum wrap enhances the desired, somewhat menacing look of the asphalt-kissing Rotiform Beetle.

European Car Magazine Beach-Battle Cruiser

European Car magazine has created a Beach-Battle Cruiser, following the concept of a Beetle for the beaches of California. Surfing is serious business, of course, and the military-inspired paint will gain you respect wherever the waves are breaking—just be sure to stay out of the sand with those 19-inch Fuchs Performance wheels and high-performance tires.

The powertrain is upgraded with a large Revo Technik turbocharger, new intake and exhaust systems, and a software upgrade, boosting horsepower to an estimated 400. Inside, the seats are upholstered in military green suede and leather. You wouldn’t want to soil such a precious interior after conquering Malibu Beach, and therefore, European Car has added a deployable shower system to keep the sand out of all those nooks and crannies.

FMS Modern Beetle

Tuner FMS Automotive has created a tasteful gray-and-black two-tone paint scheme, complete with a matte-black hood, for its Modern Beetle show car. TSW wheels, a slightly lowered suspension with H&R springs, and a dual-exhaust system provide not-so-subtle enhancements to an already sporty base car. We could do without the horizontal LED lights, however.

FMS Classic Beetle

As the yin to its Modern Beetle interpretation’s yang, FMS Automotive has restored a 1956 Beetle to perfection, and then added some more trick bits. It now features extensive bodywork, two-tone paint, a high-performance powertrain, and an upgraded chassis with four-wheel disc brakes and large aluminum wheels. The interior is fully clad in leather; headrests were deemed dispensable—which is fine by us, given this car’s purist approach.

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GAS Chopped Top Beetle

Galpin Auto Sports has created a chopped-top Beetle with many ’50s and ’60s styling elements. Candy Apple Red metal flakes accentuate the Onyx Black paint job, and they are found on the dashboard as well. The roof is lowered by 5.5 inches at the A-pillar and 2.5 inches at the B-pillar and the windshield is steeply raked forming that classic chopped look. The all-American legend of chopped-top performance cars lives on in this interpretation of the Beetle.

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Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich Mack Hellings Brian Henton