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The Super Beetle has a spare wheel tucked underneath the floor of the bonnet.
The speedometer is still in miles.
The lithium ion batteries were replaced in 2016.
Warkworth’s Nick van Hoppe has a bright orange classic 1971 Volkswagen 1302 Super Beetle with a secret underneath the bonnet.
Nicknamed “Voltsy”, it is fully electric, with 45 lithium ion batteries hooked up in a series, requiring five hours for a full charge.
The car was converted by an engineer in Nelson who sold it to Nick. It cost $15,000 for the body and $30,000 to convert.
It’s much faster than the gas-guzzling original car, easily holding 100 km/h on the motorway.
Nick once tested its range by having a friend follow him around with an odometer running. It ran for 108 kilometres before the battery went completely flat.
“Unlike a modern car, you can tow it home with a standard rope with the car in neutral,” Nick says.
The car has a four-speed manual gearbox, but the everyday driving experience is more like driving an automatic.
Nick says second gear is sufficient for around town driving while third is ideal for the motorway.
The dashboard has an amp meter. When the car is drawing more than 300 amps, it is time to switch up the gear to allow for more efficient use of energy.
There is also a voltage meter to provide an indication of how much charge is remaining in the battery.
The modernised bug is also much quieter than its traditionally rumbly engine.
“You can actually have a conversation while you’re driving in it,” Nick says.
In the absence of an engine to produce hot air, two hair driers have been mounted underneath the bonnet and rigged to a switch to provide a demister.
