Beetle anniversary party is more crazy than ever

OVER 4,000 enthusiasts are making their way to the Baltic resort of Travemünde to celebrate Beetles of all generations in what has been called 'The Sunshine Tour'.

As well as plenty of original cars there is also plenty of fancy dress for the owners and the cars themselves, while there competition for the overall prize of Most Beautiful Beach Beetle.

Volkswagen has been an official 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 537bhp 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.

By Press Association reporters