'Simply VW' show, Beaulieu Motor Museum. (part 2 of 2)

This weeks blog review is the second and final instalment about the 'Simply VW' day, organised by and held in the grounds of the world famous Beaulieu Motor Museum. This one day event was held on Sunday 28th June, with overnight camping available on the Saturday night within the grounds. This inaugural event was open to both air-cooled and water cooled Volkswagen's and promised to be a great day, judging by all the interest the event was causing on facebook. My review of the show continues as I wander around the grounds of Beaulieu looking at all the Volkswagen's in the glorious sunshine.
To see part one of this shows review and all my other blog entries, go to ‘My Blog Archive’ to the left of this page. Simply click on an arrow for a particular year, then click on an arrow for a particular month, this will then give you a drop down menu for all the blog entries for that month.

The variety of Volkswagen's that attended this
Volkswagen show was hugely diverse, from
show standard to RAT looking and everything
in between.

A gorgeous mid '60's Karmann Ghia finished
in sliver with a black roof. This Karmann was 
super clean and perfectly straight. I did like 
the Fuchs style wheels and the overall look.

This lowered Karmann Ghia looks so good.
The chrome bumpers compliment the silver
paint. The shape of the tail lights denotes
that this Karmann Ghia was produced some-
time between 1960 - 1969.

This 1968 split screen had a very subtle two
tone blue paint scheme and with the safari 
screens and the double doors open, it looked
great. I did like the awning / cover going over
the double doors. 

Inside this two tone beauty was a lush looking
white vinyl seating arrangement which looked
so comfortable. Contrasting blue check curtains 
and cushions finished off the interior.

Another Karmann Ghia, this 1969 model looked
fantastic with it's lowered stance and the perfect
grey gloss paint.

After walking around the show for a few hour's
I headed back to my bus to have a cup of tea
and a bite to eat, this was the view looking out 
of my sliding door. It was a similar view which 
ever window I looked out of, Volkswagen's
of all descriptions everywhere!

The venue started to allow vehicles into grounds
at 10.00 am, and even at midday there was still
a steady flow of VW's coming into the show.

This 1963 white over grey split screen looked 
great as it drove into the show venue, I'll have
to make a note to go have a better look at this
one.

Beetle's and buses parked up around every
corner. The number of Volkswagen's, both air
cooled and water cooled that came along to
 this inaugural Simply VW day was amazing.

I think this is a MK1 GP buggy, although I could
be wrong but whatever it was, it was gorgeous.
I loved the aqua blue metal flake paint and the
 white interior, it reminded me of a toy car I had 
many, many years ago.

The super wide banded white wheels were the
perfect choice for this style of buggy. This was
one of those vehicles you see every so often
where everything was just right.

Fiona, my green early bay and the white early 
bay under the tree we shared for some shade.

I recognise this late bay crew cab pick up, I saw
this at the Just Kampers open day a few weeks
back. (check out my blog archive to see that
review) This really is a nice looking bus in what
looks like a dove blue colour.

Here is another bus I saw at the JK open day,
it's a gorgeous 1988 light green and white
T25 with a pop top. 

There were hundreds of water cooled VW's at
the show, Golf's, Polo's, Scirocco's, T4 / T5's
etc, but this MK1 Caddy caught my eye. I liked
the lowered stance, the wheels, the sign written
doors... well everything really.

And the icing on the cake for this cool caddy,
was the chopper style cycle on the bed. This
really was a cool combination.

The variety of air cooled vehicles at the 'Simply 
VW' show was immense. This lovely cherry red
1970 Beetle was parked up next to a very clean 
looking white T25.

This 1966 split screen panel van was painted
in a German fire truck paint scheme. This bus 
did look good, and I liked that huge spotlight on 
the roof, not the usual cyclopes light but it still
suited the vehicle perfectly.

A lovely pre '63 split screen panel van in a lovely
RAT condition. I did like the painted decal on the 
sides. 

The RAT look and buses with patina are the 'in
thing' at the moment, and it's easy to see why
when you see something as nice as this van.

The unusual colour choice of cream and orange
on this 1977 late bay worked really well and
it looked fantastic.

The interior of this bus was also unique, and so
nice looking. I did like the green check pattern
on the brown vinyl seats.

This line up must be for the blue and orange
bays only. The amazing thing was, each bay 
was different from the next as each one was
an expression of it's owner.

This white over signal red early bay found a nice
patch of grass to park on. This lovely pop top bay
had numerous accessories including twin roof
racks, (with a fire pit) a cool looking sun visor,
and chrome headlight peaks and Fuchs wheels.

I'm sure I saw a T25 around here somewhere...
I just love this photo, every so often I surprise
myself with how well a photo comes out.

This 1963 white over grey split screen looked 

great with it's stock ride height and the 'old' 

looking two tone colour scheme. I did like those 

windows in the double doors.

This old split screen looked just about perfect  
from every angle. This really was a nice bus.

Mid way through the afternoon we had a short
rain shower, which was forecast so I headed
indoors as entry into the VW show gave you
access to the motor museum and the 'Top Gear'
world vehicle display. This is the electric car
that Jeremy, James and Richard made, which 
if I remember correctly they named: Eagle i-Thrust

This is what is left of the Toyota Hi-Lux that they
tried to destroy by submersing it in the sea,
crashing it into a tree, placing it on top of a high
rise building and then demolishing the building,
setting fire to it, hitting it with a wrecking ball,
but all to no avail, as the truck still started
(without any new parts) and still drove.

Who remembers the boat's the Top Gear team
made out of cars? James' Triumph Herald yacht,
Jeremy's Toyota Hi Lux, and Richard's T25
Camper van barge. If I remember correctly the
boys actually crossed the Channel on Jeremy's
Toyota in the end as the other two sank.

There is also a section for 'Cars on screen' a
selection of the famous cars we used see every
week on our favourite TV programme's. Here
is Del Boy's Reliant, from 'Only Fools and 
Horse's,  with Mr. Beans yellow Mini in the
 background.

Moving inside the main motor museum, which
has a collection of over 250 automobiles and
motorcycles telling the story of motoring on the
roads of Britain from the dawn of motoring to
the present day, suffice to say too many to take
photo's of. Having said that here is a few that
caught my eye. These two F1 cars are the
Rothmans of Damon Hill, and the Lotus of
Romain Grosjean.

Looking down onto a row of classic sports cars.
The green torpedo shaped car at the bottom of
the photo is the land speed record holder for
steam powered cars, aptly named 'The biggest
kettle in the world'. It reached an average speed
of 139.843mph at the Edwards Air Force Base
in California.

Throughout the museum there where these great
little displays of workshops / garages and shops
from yesteryear. The attention to detail was
simply incredible.

Another display of an old shop, the shelves were
crammed full of boxes of the products that were
available back in days gone by. 

On leaving the museum I noticed the monorail
and thought I could get some good ariel photo's
of the show from there, but unfortunately the show
looks half empty from my photo's, but trust me
it wasn't.

Another ariel photo, and again the show looks
empty... the monorail went around the perimeter
of the show area so I'm guessing that's why it
looks as though it's half empty.

So that was part 2 of my blog review on the 'Simply
VW' day at Beaulieu. If you missed part one check
out 'my blog archive' to the top left of this page.
This was the first VW show to be held at Beaulieu, 
and I would say it was a total success. The were
hundreds of VW's both air cooled and water 
cooled all descriptions. The atmosphere was
chilled and relaxed, and the setting along with
the weather were both fantastic. This is definitely
one show on my calendar for 2016.

'Simply VW' show, Beaulieu Motor Museum. (part 1 of 2)

For this weeks blog I travelled down to the world famous Beaulieu National Motor Museum, which is located deep in the beautiful surroundings of the New Forest in Hampshire for their first ever 'Simply VW' day. It was a day where Volkswagen owners were invited to bring their Volkswagen's along to Beaulieu and park within the museum complex for what promised to be an unforgettable day. I saw this event advertised on facebook and they stated; "Whether you are an owner or an enthusiast there will be something for everyone; from modern marvels such as the Golf GTI and Scirocco to classics such as the Campervan or the Original Beetle, all models are welcome. It is an opportunity to admire some superb examples of these cult vehicles and to connect with fellow enthusiasts at an iconic location". Beaulieu is a place I have wanted to visit for many years, but for one reason or another I never actually got around to going but after seeing that they were holding a VW day, with access to the museum I made a conscious effort to ensure I went. The event was on Sunday 28th June, with weekend camping available in the grounds of the Beaulieu estate. I put a post on facebook to see if anyone I knew fancied a drive down, but I think the 220 (ish) mile return journey may have put a few people off, so Fiona and I set off on our own. 

To see all my other blog entries, go to ‘My Blog Archive’ to the left of this page. Simply click on an arrow for a particular year, then click on an arrow for a particular month, this will then give you a drop down menu for all the blog entries for that month.

Fiona, My 1969 microbus parked up in the 
grounds of Beaulieu, as the long queue of VW's
 entered the Beaulieu site we were directed to 
park on grass areas either side of the road, in 
the direct sunlight, as I approached the steward 
he asked me to reverse under the tree,  which 
I did gladly as it was going to be a scorcher of 
a day, and this meant I had plenty of shade.

Another photo of my early bay under the tree
which I shared with a lovely white 1970 early
bay.

Here is a better photo of the all white '70 early
bay. This gorgeous bus looked original and
looked so nice. I do like the stock ride height
and the white wall tyres.

If you like your buses with the patina look, how
about this 1970 white over blue early bay. This
really was a RAT looking bay, and doesn't it
look good. I did like the two roof racks and the
roof ladder.

Sign written buses always catch my eye and this
lovely 1970 bay was no different. It had this old
looking sign writing on the cab doors and side
panels, which give the bus a unique look.

This U.S. import looked like a nice solid bus,
and it looked as though it may have had a
narrowed front beam.

A pair of bright orange late bay's, one has been
lowered, and one is at the stock ride height,
so which one would you have?

This gorgeous two tone green pre 1963 split
screen looked great parked up in the 'Simply
VW' line up. The 'old' looking colours really
suited this early split screen.

This really was a nice looking bus, which was
accentuated by the colour choice and by the
small details like the colour coded bumpers.

A cool sticker in the rear window, how many
vehicles still use semaphore turn signals?...
This lovely split screen does.

This white over blue 1971 deluxe early bay was
so straight and solid looking and with an almost
perfect reflection on the rear panels.

This cool pop top deluxe early bay looked great
parked up. I did like the twin yellow spot lights
on the bumper and the 3 bow roof rack. The
reflection on those side panels is amazing.

A lovely 1970 early bay with the front hinging
pop top. This super clean bus had aftermarket
door mirrors fitted, they give so much more
vision compared to the original items, so it has 
to worth thinking about changing the mirrors.

This 1972 British racing green Beetle had some
seriously cool custom wheels which made this
bug stand out.

The green bug also had a neat comic book
design on the bonnet featuring the incredible hulk. 

This stunning 1966 single cab split screen pick
up was totally immaculate, and super straight.
I did like the awning attached to the pick up 
bed cover, and the roof rack, and the sign
written doors, and .... 

This really was a cool ride, the painted white
bumpers and wheels added a nice contrast to
the dove blue ( I think) body colour.

Another cool ride was this white over bronze
1965 split screen. Again the paint work was
immaculate over super straight panels. I did
like the twin roof racks and the Porsche style
headlight grilles.

This totally original split screen bus looked as
though it had just been driven out of the factory.
It was totally immaculate and everything was as
it should be.

The ride height and the overall look of this bus
is something I could look at for hours on end
and had to be one of my favourites at the show.

A nice variety and a very colourful display of
just a few of the buses on show at the
Simply VW show at Beaulieu.

This gorgeous turquoise 1957 oval beetle was
stunning. The combination of the colour choice
along with with those white wall tyre's looked 
fantastic.

This 1950's beetle cabriolet looked amazing
in it's super shiny gloss black paint. This is
another car that looked totally original.

 Another 1950's beetle, this time it's a lovely
1953 oval window. Again it's another totally
original looking car, they do look so much better
in all original specification.

No, this guy isn't about to steal this lovely
1974 Jurgens Autovilla, he is the owner of
this rare sought after South African import.

I had a quick chat to the owner who said the
worst bit about owning such a rare vehicle is
trying to get parts and accessories for this
coach built beauty.

Anybody call for a taxi? This bright yellow 1975
beetle looked great with it's taxi sign on the roof
and sun visor which both helped to make this
super shiny bug stand out.

This gorgeous 1967 sky blue beetle looked 
fantastic with it's contrasting cream coloured 
steel wheels. This was another car that looked
just as Volkswagen had intended it to look.

This late 1950's beetle looked stunning with it's
flawless deep red paint, perfectly straight body
panels and super shiny chrome trim.

You can see from this angle just how perfectly
straight the body is and how good that paint job
is. I did like the colour coded painted wheels. 

Another pair of 1950's / early 1960's beetles
in almost original condition. The standard of
vehicles at the Simply VW day was amazing.

Adrian, Natalie and the girls were at the
Simply VW day at Beaulieu selling all their VW
related goodies as normal. Adrian is a friend
and also a member of the Outcast VW Club.
If you see Adrian's stand at one of the many
VW show's he attends, have a wander over and
have a look, they have some really cool stuff.

Adrian's 1977 Fire bus in which carries all their
VW stock to different shows. Adrian also owns
 a 1970 beetle that he uses as a daily driver.

This lovely 1971 pastel yellow RHD type 182
trekker stood out amongst the other VW's that
were parked next to it mainly because it was
a Trekker, and because of the unusual colour 
but also because of... 

The two grass parasol's and the hammock at
the back of the car. I'm not sure why they were
there, but it did look good and suited the car
perfectly, the only thing missing was the beach.

It seems to be all quality Beetle's so far on this 
part of the blog review, but there were many 
other quality vehicles at the show. This 1966 
white bug that looked good and stood out. 
I did like the overall look with the U.S. 
chrome towel rail bumpers.

This super clean cabriolet looked fantastic in
it's black and red colour scheme. The polished
Porsche wheels and chrome trim finished off
this car's great looks.

This really was a show standard vehicle. The
attention to detail was amazing.

This gorgeous turquoise 1961 Karmann Ghia
looked fantastic parked up. This lowered KG
looked like a U.S. import, and had a narrowed
front beam with BRM wheels.

On route to the show, I joined the M271 and saw
this lovely pre 63 split window beetle just ahead
of me, so I sped up to try and catch him up, but
I was doing 60 mph and this little beetle was just
pulling away from me like I was standing still.!

This great little show really did have something
for everyone, a lovely yellow 1972 fastback, a
blue 1967 squareback, and a notchback all
lined up together.

This 1977 late bay stood out with it's super
bright green paint and Fuchs wheels. This really
was a nice clean bus that had several cool  
accessories such as the 3 bow roof rack, the 
chrome headlight peaks, but most of all because
of...

The use of a scooter, well the back half anyway
for use as a buddy seat. It was painted in the 
same bright green as the bus, this really was a 
cool looking interior. 

This stunning black and white 1967 split screen
belongs to a wedding hire company. It would
certainly create a good impression for the bride
 to arrive at the church in this beautiful bus.

This 1986 Karmann Gypsy was another rare 
and sought after vehicle. The Gypsy was only
produced from 1986 - 1989 and a total of only 
741 were produced on the type 3 (T25) chassis. 

We have all heard of the 'barn find' buses that
end up being show winners, well this is one of
those barn finds. This 1966 split screen was
found in a barn in the U.S. and shipped to the
U.K for the restoration to start.

This is the result of many years hard work and
dedication. This really is a rags to riches story.

The interior, is as you would expect of the same
high quality. I don't think there was a single
square inch of the bus that was not worked on
during the transformation, which is probably why
this bus won 2nd place in the peoples choice.

This 1968 deluxe microbus had some serious
patina going on, which is normally a sign of the
bus spending a long time in direct sunlight or
other forms of extreme weather, but doesn't it
look great.

I'm guessing, but as this looks like a U.S. import
I'd imagine it'll be the hot east coast sun that
has caused this cool looking patina.

Open safari screens on a split screen just look 
so right, as this 1967 deluxe bus proves. This
baby blue and white bus had painted steel
wheels with whitewall tyre's that also looked
just about perfect.

The unusual colour choice on this pre 63 split
screen actually works really well. It's sort of an
olive colour with black over the top. It's also
unusual to have the darker colour on top.

A nice diversity of buses around every corner
at the Simply VW day at Beaulieu.

This 1978 South African panel van looked great
in it's bright orange paint. This van really was
immaculate and has obviously had an easy life
compared to most of these utility vehicles.

A lovely white over black 1963 split screen. The
BRM wheels looked great and complimented
the paint scheme. 

This gorgeous 1964 type 34 Karmann Ghia
looked fantastic in it's bright red paint with a 
black roof. The type 34 was introduced in 1961
and in 1962 it was only the 2nd car in the world
 to offer an electrically operated steel sun roof.

These are commonly know as the 'Razoredge'
but in Germany they were called 'Der Grobe
Karmann' (the big Karmann) and 'European
Ghia' in the U.S.

Just a random photo of the Simply VW day at
Beaulieu Motor Museum, taken looking between
a lovely 1970 beige and white early bay and a
bright orange T25. The monorail track which
goes around the perimeter of the grounds can
be clearly seen at the top of the photo.

So that was part one of the 'Simply VW' day
at Beaulieu. Be sure to check out the second
part of this review next Saturday where you 
can see more top quality Beetles, Beach Buggies,
Buses, Karmann Ghia's and a brief look inside
the famous Motor Museum. There are also a
few photo's of the 'Top Gear World' display
featuring some of the TV programmes most
memorable vehicles.