VW Beetle Fender special edition

Volkswagen not only launched its brand new third-generation Beetle in Australia today, priced at $29,990, it also took the wraps off a too-cool-for-school special edition Beetle Fender that commands a $5000 premium.

However the German importer all but ruled out a return to the original car's budget-priced ethos. 

Volkswagen Group Australia's Managing Director, Anke Koeckler, told motoring.com.au that a $20,000 budget Beetle – as it's positioned in some European markets – is not on the radar, at least "not for the time being". 

"It was very clear from the beginning that we were going for the acclaimed 118 TSI 1.4," said Ms Koeckler, indicating the advanced, award-winning (and expensive) 1.4-litre turbocharged/supercharged 118kW/240Nm engine.

The VW Australia boss said there were other engine options available, but that the company "wanted to reduce it to one engine because we don't want to increase the complexity of the range". 

Ms Koeckler noted that "...for the amount of cars we want to sell we thought it was the best choice to limit the variations". 

Having sold 22.5 million Beetles since its inception in 1938, the instantly recognisable vehicle has appeared in numerous films, is a design icon and helped cement Volkswagen as a dominant global brand in the automotive space. 

But if you want a new one you'll have to pay at least $29,990 plus on-road costs, making for a starting price of around $33K.

Arriving in Australia at the end of May, 2013, will be 200 limited edition Beetle Fender models, which pay homage to another design icon, the Fender guitar. Priced at $34,990 this model comes with all the bits from the regular model while adding a funky twist, including stylised 18-inch alloy wheels, pearl effect paint finish and Fender badging.

The xenon/LED headlight setup normally part of the Technology Package is also included in the special edition model, as are chrome mirror covers and wood panel dashboard accents, or 'Sunburst' in VW-speak. 

Volkswagen has also fitted the seven-speed DSG automatic as standard. 

The custom-car look is amplified with Sioux brown stitching on all major touch points (leather steering wheel, leatherette seats, gear shifter, handbrake), matching carpet floor mats, and of course what would a Fender-branded car be without a pumping stereo? In this car it's a 'Fender Sound' premium audio system, with eight speakers (including a subwoofer), plus a digital 10-channel amplifier for a total 400W output.

The Beetle special edition train has plenty more stops to make too. During the Chicago motor show, Volkswagen took the wraps off a hard-charging Beetle GSR, which is a full second faster from 0-100km/h than the 1.4-litre twincharged model, taking 7.3 as opposed to 8.3 seconds.

Will this Golf GTI-powered Beetle bad-boy be offered in Australia? 

"For the time being we just decided to go for the 1.4 TSI and the 200 special edition [Fender] models, but we're always looking to other psossibilties," said Ms Koeckler. 

"In one month's time we are head over to HQ and we get all the new models presented and then we can decide what kind of cars we can bring to the market in the short term.

"We all love performance cars, and therefore we will certainly look into whether there is potential [for a high performance Beetle]," she said.

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