The Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle, one of the 20th century’s most iconic vehicles, also served as a rolling car canvas for artists just itching to bug society.

Over 21 million Type 1 Beetles were manufactured between 1938 through 2003, leaving an indelible mark on pop culture’s psyche. VW sought to monetize the classic Bug’s nostalgic appeal through the evocative New Beetle that debuted in 1997, and the subsequent A5 Beetle introduced in 2011.

Now that VW has declared the current generation of Beetles to be the last, we can fondly look back to those “true” Bugs immortalized as art cars and transformed into artworks.

The classic Bug made its last hurrah on July 30th of 2003, when the 21,529,464th and final original Type 1 VW Beetle rolled off the production line in Puebla, Mexico. The exquisite Beetle art car above, snapped by Flickr member Angélica Portales (A30_Tsitika) in December 2010, hails from Mexico City. Artists Francisco and Xena Bautista decorated the late-model Bug with tiny seed beads in the traditional Huichol style – a painstaking process that took around 7 months to complete.

Water Bug

Remember those old DDB magazine ads that featured a floating VW Bug? Well, those don’t apply to this replica Beetle since it’s made of concrete and weighs about 8 tons. You’ll find it – bring your wetsuit – among the many undersea artworks at the Underwater Museum, off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.

Artist Jason deCaires-Taylor designed the sunken Bug to be sea-life-friendly with pierced windows providing smaller fish with shelter and crustacean habitats accessible via slots under the faux doors. The roughened surfaces are designed to help new coral growths get a grip.

For Ladybirds Only

While GM’s late and lamented luxo-barges epitomized the American Dream back in the day, the lowly VW Bug was a dream-come-true for countless car-buyers on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. It’s fitting, therefore, that Texas hosts not only the Cadillac Ranch but also a “herd” of five VW Beetles given a ladybug-like makeover.

You’ll find this Buggalo-like herd of beetle-y Beetles at the Running N Art Ranch in Saint Jo, Texas, a town of about 1,000 souls in Montague County just south of the Oklahoma border. The quintet of decommissioned Bugs sport jointed legs made from old oil field pipes and are painted red with black polka-dots.

Unlike the once-stately Caddys sticking out of the ground near Amarillo, these art cars are off-limits to amateur artists. Flickr member Nicholas Henderson (TexasExplorer98) visited the ranch in March of 2017.

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An enduring classic, the VW van might just be one of the most converted and renovated vehicles of all time, transforming into solar campers, bars, food trucks, shops, tanks, snowmobiles and even a Back to the Future-inspired mini movie theater with gull wings and a ‘working’ flux capacitor. Though most of these re-imaginations have been carried out by fans and enthusiasts, Volkswagen itself has some ideas for carrying the iconic van into the 21st century and beyond.

Back to the Future Volkswagen Van

Custom-built by Brian Wallin and currently available for sale in Nashville through VelocityMC, the ‘Back to the Future’-styled 1967 Volkswagen Bus looks like new inside and out after a fun renovation that added gull-wing doors to the front and a mini movie theater to the back. You’ll even find a time machine from the film mounted to the dashboard, and a ‘working’ flux capacitor. Tempted? It’s yours for $89,995.

1966 VW Bus Bulli T1 Turned Musical Snowmobile

Not only does this 1966 VW Bus Bulli T1 have rubber tracks instead of wheels, it’s a mobile DJ booth, designed to roam around during outdoor parties in snowy environments. That may seem highly specific, but hey, people who live in places that get trapped by literal walls of snow every winter want to party, too. It was created by Austrian promotions company BB Support by combining the VW with a 1960s Bombardier B01 Spurgerät snow machine.

World’s First Sideways VW Camper Van

At first glance, it seems like somebody just pushed a VW bus over onto its side. But no. It’s actually drivable like that. Mechanic Jeff Bloch is known for wacky race car builds, including an upside-down Chevrolet Camaro, so for him, this ‘Trippy Tippy Hippy Van’ is par for the course.

The Long & Short of It

In the long history of VW Minibus transformations, many a Short (VW) Bus has been born (though it’s not entirely clear why, other than ‘because we could.’) But have you ever seen a Volkswagen Bus limousine?

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Iconic for its role in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, the Volkswagen Bus has seen many an amateur transformation into campers over the decades since, and now it’s gone solar electric. An Oregon couple decided to put their own spin on the classic DIY project by fusing the original aesthetics of a 1973 VW van with electric vehicle batteries and photovoltaic panels mounted to the roof, creating a modest but highly functional recreational vehicle for their family trips.

Brett Belen, an engineer who spent years working on solar electric vehicles before taking on the project, wanted a highway-friendly camper with a large roof surface to pack on the largest possible solar array. He mounted four 305-watt LG panels to a pop-up frame that tilts up to 40 degrees, taking in lots of sunlight on the road while flat and then positioned toward the morning sun when open and parked for the night.

The space beneath the open panel provides extra elbow room inside the van for Brett, his wife Kira and their two children. This works almost exactly like Volkswagen-produced camper vans, with the sides enclosed by waterproof tent material. A rear window allows them to look out onto the scenery of their chosen camping spot, while the inside is equipped with folding tables and storage space for gear.

The battery bank consists of 12 Trojan T-1275 lead-acid batteries in a custom battery box tucked beneath a bench seat in the back, providing a range of up to 50 miles per charge. While other battery types could provide more power, Brett emphasizes that he wanted to stick to materials that the average person can afford. It’s not top of the line, but the setup is still enough to take the Belens on a 1400-mile trip of the West Coast. Learn more about the specifics at the family’s website.

The recent comeback of modernized (and modified) mobile homes has seen many novel transformations of cars and trucks into various sizes of living space, but the Doubleback may have more secret additional area than any other vehicle of its size and class.

These modified T5 transports have a pop-up top, but also a slide-out back adding up to six feet of extra length – each of these extensions can sleep two people.

Self-leveling feet drop down from the rear extension, making sure the cantilevered zone remains level at all times, including on variegated terrain.

Further exterior space can be covered as well via a roll-out canopy top or custom flip-up door, turning parking lots and campgrounds into cookout spaces and backyards.

Various configurations are possible, sleeping up to four people (drop-down beds in the back and additional sleeping space above) and seating depending on the design details. Newer models also include space for a camping toilet and cooking amenities.

Assemble a miniature model of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle with a new kit from LEGO, reproducing the car in minuscule detail from a surfboard-holding roof rack to a four-cylinder air-cooled engine and fuel tank. The VW Beetle Creator Expert Kit comes with 1,167 pieces including the car’s characteristic round headlights, curved fenders and a body painted vivid sky blue.

On the outside, you’ll find front and rear bumpers, license plates, flat windshields, exhaust pipes, side mirrors and virtually every other feature you’d see on a full-sized version of the car, down to a couple logos and the kind of bumper stickers you see on surfers’ cars in Malibu. Open the front lid to reveal the spare tire, or the rear to access the engine bay.

The beige interior forward-tilting seats, a dashboard and steering wheels, and if you tilt the rear seat forward, you’ll find a storage space hiding a fabric beach towel. The top of the car can also be removed to access the inside, and included accessories like a cooler and surfboard can be mounted to the roof rack.

The kit is available for $99.99 USD on July 14th for Lego VIPs, with everybody else getting access on August 1st. This release comes on the heels of a similarly detailed Porsche ‘911 GT3 RS’, a Technic kit of 1:8 scale with 2,704 pieces costing three times as much. That kit is still sold out, so LEGO fans who want the Beetle kit for their own collections will have to act fast.