Your Shout  (August 2003)

As you know, Volkswagen have announced that production of the air-cooled Beetle at the Peubla factory will cease sometime this summer. The VW Newsgroup rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled (more popularly known as RAMVA) reports that VW Mexico are to produce 3000 final 'Last Edition' Beetles to mark this sad occasion.

Of course, these will not be the only 'Last Edition' Beetles being driven round on the day production ceases. The final 300 Beetles built for the United Kingdom in 1978 were also designated 'Last Edition' models. The cars were finished in distinctive Diamond Silver Metallic paint and were provided with individually numbered commemorative plaques.

There is a thriving register for these cars, run by Julie Kinley, the owner of 'Last Edition' Beetle number 250. The Register has its own website at www.lasteditionbeetle.org and all owners are invited to get in touch.

The Last Edition Beetles celebrate their Silver Jubilee this year, and we are planning a get together for the Register at the Volkswagen NorthWest meeting in Tatton Park, Cheshire, on August 10th. Attached are some photos from previous gatherings. I would be grateful if you could publicise this information in VWm. Your readers may find this an interesting news angle between new and old 'Last Edition' Beetles.

Thanks, Fred, for keeping us up to date on the register's activities and for the photographs you supplied. Let's hope there's a good turnout at Tatton Park in August.