The Mighty Bug in celebration
Given the ardent popularity of the 'Mighty Bug,' the Volkswagen
Beetle Owners' Club, along with the Galle Face Hotel and The Mount
Lavinia Hotel, will hold the Annual World Volkswagen Day Celebration
today (26) starting at 8 am. The history behind this celebration came
about with a date being allocated to celebrate the much loved Volkswagen
that brought about motoring to the masses with over 21 million examples
that were produced in Air Cooled form and the number continues to grow
with the New Beetle in Water Cooled form.
The significance of this date goes back to the 'days of the Fuhrer'
who laid the foundation on this day in 1936, at a location which was
named KDFStadt to produce the KDF Wagen. This was his concept of a
people's car for all German families which has the ability to carry a
family of four at a speed of 100 kms per hour. This was made a reality
with the engineering genius of Ferdinand Porsche who developed a
prototype that met the requirements and was given the nod by German
engineering authorities to go ahead with the project.
Back home, the mighty Bug was introduced as early as 1953 with the
importation of an initial consignment of Split Glass Beetles by Clarence
Amarasinghe & Company Ltd., better known as Car Mart Ltd., who was very
much at the helm of the motoring circuit having introduced the French
Peugeot with the sleek 203 model that created a class of its own, very
specially amongst the top rung of the Civil services, not to mention the
Police who maintained their brand loyalty with Peugeot for many years to
come.
It has been noted that the initial introduction of the Beetle wasn't
a smooth one as recollected by most that belong to this era, as this was
somewhat a novel machine with an engine that sat at the rear of the
vehicle and didn't require water as well.
Nevertheless, a new generation of motorists took the plunge which
began the wave of Beetle mania across Ceylon. Great interest was shown
by the young cadets who joined the civil service who had the ability to
obtain a loan to purchase a car and the popular choice was the VW
Beetle. Several university dons also took to the wheel of the Mighty Bug
thanks to its ease of handling on the winding roads which lead them to
their campuses.
The Volkswagen Beetle Owners' Club has also come up with a novel
project which may be a first carried out by any motoring club in Sri
Lanka, by launching a raffle from which the winner would take home a
collectors Vintage Oval VW Beetle in pristine condition. All VW Owners
regardless of the models are cordially invited to be a part of this
unique motoring event and join in the parade and the activities of the
celebration. |