No stone left unturned, the Beetle represents years of hard work. And it's at times like these Joe recalls the ill-fated morning he recovered the stripped shell of what he once called his car. In that instant, as it lay in pieces, Joe remembered feeling that his dreams of owning the perfect Beetle would never be realized.
After thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, only an empty carcass remained. "To see the car complete and know just how far it's come puts me at a loss for words," Joe said. "I'm just amazed we actually pulled it off."
Although it's a clich to suggest a picture can't do something justice, in this instance, this timeless phrase is apt. No matter the angle, inside or out, lapping a track or winning shows, this Beetle is remarkable. "All my hard work seems worth it when people approach and say they used to hate Beetles until they saw mine.'" Inevitably, this Beetle has seen more changes than most. While nobody's really counting, we noted three stereo systems, two sets of wheels, two body kits, four turbos, two blocks and many axles. "When I created the car I wanted it to be show-and-go; something that would do justice to the long history Porsche and VW share," Joe said. "Once I started in that direction I wanted to create a car that would be a worthy successor to the Beetle RSI Cup cars."
A longtime car enthusiast, it wasn't until 2001 when several of Joe's friends stumbled upon a yellow Beetle on eBay. Shortly after, the ex-Eurotek car was in their hands and on the long road to the top. Buying a completed show car can be a double-edged sword because knowing none of the work is yours can create a conflict. To cure this, Joe and his friends tore into the stereo system with $5000 worth of Kenwood Excelon pieces, and within two weeks it was back on the show scene.Shortly after winning some shows, Joe started building the Beetle of his dreams by attacking the exterior and adding more power. After the existing Caractere kit was tidied, Joe swapped out the upgraded K04 turbo for a larger T3/T4.
"After that I was at ATP getting a FMIC," Joe said. "And once I got a taste for more power, I just wanted to keep pushing."And push it they did, with Joe deciding to remove the car from the show circuit and spend the remaining year hot-lapping at various track events. Just as Joe began pushing the limits he found the stock block's too, when he grenaded a rod and torched the engine. Upset at the loss, Joe is now able to make light of the situation. "If I were to do it over again, I'd just skip to the top, no T series and no stock block," Joe said.
With cash in hand, Joe contacted Eurospec Sport in Gilroy, CA and based his project around one of their 2.0 Euro blocks. Built for abuse, the shiny block was stuffed with forged internals, a ported head and a GT3040R turbo.
While the car was under the knife, Joe also started the stereo concept that still remains. "I decided everything in the car needed to be modular, so I could show it one day, then pull it out and race the next," Joe said. So he chose to revamp the Excelon set up. Still waiting for the motor to be finished, Joe addressed the drivetrain, adding a Eurosport Spec six-speed 'box, a Peloquin differential and a huge clutch. As if that wasn't enough, almost everything destined for the bay was either polished or painted, too!After the new mill was broken in, Joe spun the dyno to over 320whp. And while the car looks like it's never seen the track, Joe races the Beetle regularly. Traction deficient at best, he still managed 12.5sec at 119mph, breaking many axles and motor mounts in the process.