VW Beetle gets bitten by the top speed bug

Herbie comes to life in the form of the Volkswagen Beetle LSR to become the fastest Beetle ever.

Volkswagen of America recently entered a Beetle LSR in the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA) 2016 World of Speed event at the Bonneville salt flats. The Volkswagen Beetle LSR entered in the event is powered by a 2.0 litre, four cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.

Mind you, this isn’t any old Beetle though as VW had it prepared for the run by THR Manufacturing who tuned the powertrain of the Beetle LSR for its slat flat run with new pistons, camshafts, connecting rods, head modifications and a new turbocharger as well. The end result from the engine was 535bhp of maximum power at 570Nm of peak torque which measures over 591bhp and 677Nm at the flywheel.

Just to give you a context here, the stock car in Beetle R-Line spec makes 207 bhp and 280Nm of torque. Which gave the car a 0 – 96 km/h time of 6.6 seconds and a top speed of 208 km/h.

So just how much faster is the Beetle LSR you ask? Well, it cracked the 200 mph barrier on the Bonneville salt flats by registering a top speed of 205.122 mph over a flying mile, making it the fastest Volkswagen Beetle in history!

“We are completely thrilled with the Beetle LSR’s performance at Bonneville,” said Dr. Hendrik Muth, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing and Strategy, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “The Beetle is not the most aerodynamic car in our portfolio, so running 205 mph is a testament to the power that can be made from the EA888 TSI four-cylinder engine. This feat truly underscores the sporty and pugnacious spirit of the Beetle.”

Also read- First Drive: Volkswagen Beetle 1.4-litre TSI