The sun is shining, and it’s that time of year again, when Beetles old and new prepare to make their annual pilgrimage to the beach. For the tenth time, fans of these vehicles are coming together on the Baltic coast to celebrate and party Beetle-style. Back once again will be ‘Voice of Germany’ star Ole ‘Soul’ Feddersen, performing with Nathalie Dorra and band a Beetle song specially composed for the Sunshine Tour.
Four hundred vehicles and up to 4,000 guests and spectators make their way annually to the fan meet on the Baltic, which gets bigger and better known from year to year. To make sufficient space for all the Beetles, the tour is for the first time starting this year from Lübeck Airport. The trip finishes in Brügmanngarten in Travemünde. In addition to live music from the Urban Beach band, Projekt Caramba and DJ, Ole Feddersen and band will be appearing again this year. He and Nathalie Dorra are members of Udo Lindenberg’s ‘Panik Familie’ and were involved among other projects with the successful ‘MTV Unplugged Udo Lindenberg – Live from the Hotel Atlantic’ production.
However, the real stars of the show are the fans and their cult cars. Of the hundreds of curvaceous Volkswagens from six decades at the privately organised fan fest, one will be crowned ‘Most Beautiful Beach Beetle’ of them all. Special features of the Sunshine Tour include the get-ups not only of the participants, but of the cars as well. Be it Glamour Beetle, Crochet Beetle, Rock’n’Roll Beetle or Beach Beetle, there is a free choice of theme and coming up with the most original interpretation is key to winning the title. ‘It always thrills me to see the great creativity and passion that the participants put into designing their vehicles,’ says Gaby Kraft, the meet’s organiser.
Volkswagen has been an official event partner since 2005 and will be present again over the weekend of 15-17 August with a number of special vehicles. Cars on show will include the Beetle Dune, the concept Cross version of the Beetle and the recently launched Beetle Cabrio Karmann. Another real eye-catcher will be the GRC Rallycross Beetle, a 544 PS four-wheel drive car that has been developed in conjunction with Andretti Autosport for the American GRC race series. It will be making its debut in the championship in Los Angeles on 19 September. This car needs just 2.1 seconds to accelerate to 62 mph.
Volkswagen R GmbH and Volkswagen accessories will also be there featuring the latest lifestyle collection.
Beetle drivers can secure a starting place in the tour online at www.beetle-sunshinetour.de where it is also possible to view the complete programme.
