Brent Walter had been customizing an old Volkswagen Beetle in his home garage for trophy-car shows when he got the idea to fashion two VW Beetle-inspired mini-scooters from the car’s scrap parts that were left over.
The result was a six-month-long passion project and a pair of velocipedes that have become the envy of the VW Beetle-loving community.
Describing himself on his Instagram page as a “maker and builder of a variety of things,” Walter’s personal objective was laid out for him. The talented mechanic quickly got to work.
At this stage in the scooter-building process, Walter’s followers responded with enthusiasm to his unique, custom design. “I dig this concept,” one person wrote.
“Throttle hand lever needs to be a VW door handle, maybe an interior door handle,” a fellow motor enthusiast suggested, adding, “Awesome work thus far!”
The fenders that Walter wanted to use, however, were in bad shape. Walter had to re-weld, grind, and paint the battered car parts—one a striking pastel blue and the other a mellow pistachio green—but in the end he had crafted the bodies of two extremely unique-looking two-wheelers.
The “Volkspod,” as he chose to call it, was born.
“The second [blue] one has more ground clearance and a 212cc motor,” he added. “It is more practical to ride around on the road.”
Walter remained modest throughout the building process, claiming that it wasn’t too difficult to find the parts he needed for his creations. “There seems to be plenty of old Beetle fenders at swap meets,” he said.
The scooters were an instant hit; comments flooded in. Many people marveled at Walter’s vision and skill, while others voiced their desire to own a “Volkspod” of their own.
“Saw this post and I think these are fantastic, well done,” one person commented, before asking, “How much would they be on sale for?”
“[T]his is needed in my life,” exclaimed another. A few fellow motor-heads even commented that they were embarking on similar projects of their own after being inspired by Walter’s ingenuity.
The Volkswagen Beetle is an iconic car. The “people’s car,” as it was known back in the 1930s, was first made available to the public in 1938.
Walter’s Volkspods, besides being an immense feat of ingenuity and engineering, are also an amazing way to immortalize the instantly recognizable look of the VW Beetle for car lovers and vintage aficionados everywhere.