There have been few cars with as many different special editions and variations as the Volkswagen Beetle, but in all the years it’s been around there’s never really been a ‘fast’ version.
That’s all changed now, after Volkswagen unveiled its insane Beetle LSR this week, which cracked a pant-wetting 205.122mph top speed at the Bonneville Speed Week.
Power comes courtesy of the same 2.0-litre turbo four engine from the Beetle Turbo R-Line, albeit outfitted with a rather serious turbocharger to boost output from 208bhp to 543bhp.
Top speed of 205.122mph
The Beetle LSR is also fitted with different pistons, camshafts and cylinder heads to stop the whole thing blowing up, plus special racing tyres and suspension lower than a snake’s belt buckle.
Volkswagen added a limited slip differential to prevent it from slithering all over the place under acceleration, while a pair of parachutes completed the new look to haul the Bug back to a stop.
The car was then loosed on the famous Bonneville salt flats, driven by Automobile contributing editor Preston Lerner for a series of high-speed runs.
The fastest Bug in the world
Lerner claimed that the Beetle at one point hit 208mph, but its official speed was recorded at just a smidgeon over 205; still nearly one and a half times the top speed of the regular Beetle Turbo.
Previously, the world’s fastest Beetle title was held by a 1955 model that reached nearly 175mph in 1988, and if you ask us the current record may well stay for just as long.
Of course, you’re not allowed to buy a Beetle LSR, but the next time somebody says the best thing the Beetle has done was star in the Herbie films, all you have to do is show them this…
