Clearly, the demand is there, given the first two years of production are spoken for already, with more than 2000 deposits taken.
Plus, hints Potiker, the inherent characteristics of an EV powertrain could even be a boon in the context of its dune-bashing credentials, with the company planning to compete at Baja with the 2.0 “when the time strikes”.
But the immediate focus for Meyers is on preserving and safeguarding the bread-and-butter kit car business, making the combustion cars easier to assemble at home and amassing a stockpile of the necessary mechanicals and structural components to cater to sustained demand from customers old and new.
Potiker, keen for us to experience for ourselves the unique joys of Manx motoring, offers us a spin in the company’s heavily patinated and intimidatingly modified demo car – still bearing the grime from a recent return trip to Baja, where it was pressed into full-bore off-road duties for a new promotional film.
“You’ve got a Beetle, haven’t you? You’ll be fine.” He chucks me the keys. I quickly scan the ‘interior’ for similarities to my own (comparatively opulent) 1972 Bug and come up short.
But it drives… like a Beetle. Such was the utilitarian, cost-effective billing of the original Type 1 that its tinny shell offers precious little isolation from the elements in any case, so removing the doors, windows and roof makes less difference here than it would for, say, a Rolls-Royce.
