Herbie “A Great Beetle”: Review and History of the World’s Most Famous Volkswagen Beetle

Anyway, after some time searching, Luke came across a man named Gregg Carr, affectionately known in the VW community as Doctor Herbie. Carr had also seen the 1969 film The Great Beetle and over the years built his own Herbie replica. He later purchased one of the eight Herbies used in the filming of the original movie.

Yes, you read that right: There were eight hero cars used in the filming of The Great Bug, each designated H1 through 7 and serving a different purpose. In case you’re wondering, Gregg’s H6 was made up of two cars and can be seen in the part of the film where Herbie breaks in half just before the end of the big race.

Luke’s Herbie, on the other hand, is H2 and is special even among his siblings in the film. In order to keep up with the rival racers in the film, such as two Ferrari 250 GTs, a Shelby Cobra and a Lamborghini 400 GT, the production team turned to famous Porsche and VW tuner EMPI to give the Beetle a bit more oomph.

First of all, although Brian Fong, the actor who played Mr. Wu in the original film, said that driving Herbie was “like being pulled by 40 horses,” the H2 doesn’t have the same 40-horsepower 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine as all other Volkswagen Beetles of the era. Instead, the H2 is equipped with a “Super 75” engine, taken directly from the Porsche 356. As the name suggests, this unit produces a hefty 75 horsepower and is accompanied by an equally throaty exhaust note, courtesy of the Sebring system fitted by Luke. Attentive readers will also notice that this looks very different to the one Herbie wears in the film. In fact, the H2 Herbie originally had a makeshift exhaust system, camouflaged by blind exhaust pipes and held in place with strips of wire.

Herbie H2 also benefits from Porsche brakes, KONI shock absorbers and improved rear wishbones and anti-roll bars. “It’s built for good handling,” Luke tells us.