Rae Soane

Make / Model / Year:
VW Beetle, 1973

Engine, Wheels, Paint Colour:
1600cc fitted with a single Weber carburettor and a GT exhaust system, Baby Blue paint.

Any other cool accessories:
Custom seats with a leather finish, various Wolfsburg decals such as steering wheel, window winder handles and gearstick. She also has lowered suspension and a newly fitted diesel heater, which is perfect for winter driving. 

How long have I owned it, and how did I get it?
I’ve owned ‘Maggie’ for nearly 3 years now. To be truthful, during the months I was searching, she didn’t match the description at all. I was looking for a dark grey ragtop and checked out quite a few that met that criteria, but none felt right; it just didn’t resonate with me. I decided to check out Maggie because she appeared very clean in her advertisement photos, and since we had already driven a few hours to see another Beetle, she wasn’t too far away. When I saw her, it just clicked. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to bring her home. However, I made her an offer, and after a bit of negotiation, we settled on a price, and I signed the documents. Lo and behold, I became the owner of a Beetle; she was now mine. Having never driven a classic car before, I took her all the way back from Doncaster. To say I was both nervous and excited, with a huge grin stretching from ear to ear, would be an understatement.

I was raised in a family that was absolutely passionate about cars, spending a significant part of my childhood at the racetrack and car shows, immersed in the company of car enthusiasts from the very beginning.

I’ve seen my dad and his buddies construct numerous race cars (mostly repairing them after something broke) and I’ve always cherished the scent of fuel and the roar of a powerful engine. To sum it up, my passion for beetles began when I was just a toddler. I would make my older sister watch Herbie (fully loaded) on repeat every single night. If you ask her, she’ll tell you how I ‘traumatised’ her, and now she can’t even bear to watch Herbie anymore. As a kid and a teenager, I often rambled on about how one day I would own my own Beetle and how amazing I would look driving it around. It was always a certainty that I would have a Beetle; it was never a question of if, but rather when. Now, at 20 years old, I can proudly say I’ve made that dream a reality, and I couldn’t be happier. I also believe I look pretty cool in that driver’s seat, and I definitely feel it too.

I’ve mainly driven to as many UK shows as possible, Love Endless Summer, (it’s my hometown show), Beach Dubbin and the Volksworld Show are notable favs. But perhaps in the coming years, Maggie and I will venture out to Europe and check out some of the amazing shows on offer there. 

Maggie is my first Beetle, and I’ve already started planning on some improvements/modifications to make her better, watch this space…

No, this is my first classic Volkswagen, maybe not my last!