VW Reveals the Last Beetle - And This Time, It's Final. Maybe.

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

The Volkswagen Beetle, a machine that has a grand total of three (count ’em) generations since its introduction, will be ushered out the factory door in Puebla next July. The modern Bug, as we know it today, showed up as a concept car in 1997 and entered production a couple of years later as the New Beetle. In 2011, the car found itself restyled and rechristened as simply the Beetle, just like the old Beetle. But not the New Beetle, even though most people continued to call the New New Beetle the New Beetle, despite its official name being simply Beetle.

Achtung! No one ever said naming conventions had to make sense.

Whatever you want to call it, production of the car will wrap up in mid-2019. As a send off, VW has crafted a special model option called the Final Edition.

To celebrate the Beetle’s heritage, two special models will join the lineup for its last model year, to be called the Final Edition SE and Final Edition SEL. It’ll be available in coupe and convertible body styles. Collect ’em all!

As with most special editions of this sort, the paint booth has been prepped for a couple of new hues. Safari Uni is a reinvention of Harvest Moon Beige, a color from the (old) New Beetle. Meanwhile, the shade of Stonewashed Blue is a nod to the 1970 Jeans Bug and most recently seen on the 2016 Beetle Denim. Eagle-eyed Bug spotters will be able to pick out Final Editions by way of body-color side mirrors, some chrome trim, and a Turbo badge on the rump instead of a Beetle script.

All coupes, regardless of trim, will have a sunroof. SEs will sport 17-inch alloys, while SELs will have 18-inch hoops. SEL trims add Bi-Xenon headlights, LED taillights, fog lamps. Inside, the Final Edition Beetles get different upholstery than their peers. The SE gets cloth and leatherette seats while the SEL gets the real stuff.

All 2019 Beetle models, including both convertible and coupe and this Final Edition, are powered by a 2.0-litre TSI engine that makes 174 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. VW says all Final Editions are paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. No stick shift, sadly.

With the North American market expressing a seemingly permanent desire for crossover vehicles and all-wheel drive machines, Beetle development dollars are likely to now be shovelled into those programs. Top brass at VW in Germany are keen to slim down the company’s product portfolio and platform count. This’ll help.

Hinrich Woebcken, head honcho of VW America, said that there are no immediate plans to replace the Beetle, but did point out “as we have seen with the I.D. BUZZ, which is the modern and practical interpretation of the legendary Bus, I would also say, ‘Never say never,’” leaving the door open for a (probably electric) return of the Beetle sometime in the future.

Pricing for the 2019 Beetle Final Edition coupe starts at $23,045 for the SE and $25,995 for the SEL. Add about four grand if you want the ragtop.

[Images: Volkswagen of America]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • ...m... ...m... on Sep 17, 2018

    ...volkswagen's concept one debuted in '94 and the production new beetle became available in '97, kind of an radical triumph for concept-to-production mass-market cars at the time...

  • ...m... ...m... on Sep 17, 2018

    ...volkswagen's concept one debuted in '94 and the production new beetle became available in '97, kind of a radical triumph for concept-to-production mass-market cars at the time... ...unfortunately, volkswagen's turn-of-the-millenium reliability didn't follow through on the gleaming twenty-first-century ideal its concept profferred, nor did they ever follow up on that original design vision which took the public's breath away...the subsequent watered-down bastard-machismo half-effort of a long-overdue refresh could only ever have led to this inevitable outcome: ignored, unfit for the market, and unmissed until rediscovery of its original charm some twenty years hence, fresh again to fresh minds...

  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
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