Prototype Herbie Found!!
September 7, 2009Prototype Herbie Found!!
Very few people know that in the original script, Herbie the Love Bug was a red VW with white stripes and the familair #53 gumballs (but with a different font)
Here’s a story of John (Bigfoot), a member of the lovebugfans site, and his amazing Prototype Herbie
He said “As I am sure all of you know Herbie was orginally thought of to be red in color with a white stripe setup as apposed to the white and patriotic stripes that we all know and love. Well I just found out that there was one painted in the red as a design study that ultimatly lost to the correct Herbie colors. This car has had an engine fire so the engine lid has been repainted but the rest of the markings are still there! I happened to run across aguy here in North Texas that told me of this old bug he had at his farm with a “53″ on it and it sounded intriguing and I had to see it. When I got to his place I was of course shocked when I relized what this was and almost broke my arm retrieving my wallet to pay him the $500 he wanted for it. So here is the picture of the ‘66 and and pic of the prototype poster”
I nearly flipped as I was reading his story, and almost fell for it hook, line and sinker.
He added “By the way while this “could” happen, it did not. I have had my “66 European model bug for 4 years and my father had it for about 6 before that. I did this at a friends house today and thought that it came out good and had to share. I have not yet decided if I need to restore it and repaint it like this or change it all together. Ray, I hope I didn’t steal your thunder. Just had to have something different to take to the show in Eurika Springs, Ark next month. John”
That’s fantastic.
More pictures here http://manilaghia.i.ph/photo/13471
