Cyprus Mail 18 August 2019 - article by Rosie Ogden
Over 515 Beetles from 14 countries make the Sunshine Tour the biggest Beetle meeting in Europe
The 15th Beetle Sunshine Tour – an event attracting more Beetle, New Beetles and Type 1s than anywhere else in the world – kicked off in Travemunde, near Lubeck at the Baltic Sea, on Friday.
Around 500 vehicles have registered to take part this year, and the highlight was a ‘sea of Beetle lights’, where hundreds of these popular Volkswagen models came together with light chains on Saturday evening. Some of the most beautiful examples were presented at the same time as a ‘Beetle light chain’ on the promenade in Travemunde.
The Volkswagen Type 1 – the original Beetle – has long been one of the most popular classic cars. The New Beetle, which was produced between 1997 and 2010, is now also becoming popular among collectors as a modern classic.
One of the oldest New Beetles attending in Travemunde was a model that was shipped to Canada in March 1998. In 2019, the last Beetles – in production since 2011 – rolled off the production line in Mexico and these models are already collector’s items.
Gabriele Kraft, founder of the Beetle Sunshine Tour, said that eighty five per cent of all participants took part in the ‘sea of lights’.
It is traditional for Volkswagen to support the Beetle Sunshine Tour: as in previous years, the German manufacturer took a host of Beetles, New Beetles and Type 1s to Travemunde.
The oldest model at the event this year was a Hebmuller Type 1 Convertible built in 1949.
