Check out this amazing build- by a lady mechanic at that! Megan Ashton of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England; a 26 year old Air Engineering Officer in the Royal Navy, spent six years transforming a 40-year-old Volkswagen (VW) Beetle into a Porsche 356 – the company’s first production model.
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| Porsche No. 1 Type 356, Porsche Museum |
The Porsche 356/1 was created by Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche, son of company founder Ferdinand Porsche who designed the Volkswagen (VW) Beetle. This prototype car (the first real Porsche car) was a two-seater open roadster with a mid-mounted, air-cooled flat-4 engine of 1,131 cc displacement that produced 40 horsepower (30 kW). While the body was an original design, most of the mechanicals (including engine and suspension) were derived from the original Volkswagen Beetle design. This could have inspired Megan to fuse the two cars together in this amazing project!
She bought the battered 1969 VW in December 2004 as a student for just £200 and started tinkering with it- stripping it down to the chassis and meticulously re-building it virtually from scratch. It helped a lot that the 356 shared many parts with the Beetle which resulted to some savings in the production cost. Having parents very supportive of the project was a big boost as well. Piecemeal, they have been buying various parts for the car for her birthday and Christmas presents during the 6 year build. The proud Dad Viv Beal is also into classic cars and runs a garage in Barnstaple, Devon.
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| from dailymail.co.uk |
Only the chassis (which had to be shortened), wheels and engine remains of the original car, which was also given a new registration plate. She fitted larger cylinders and pistons to the engine, increasing it from 1285cc to 1776cc. The stunning vehicle now features a classy white leather interior with a mahogany finish, a 356 body shell and includes authentic steering wheel and speedometer. It also boasts an impressive top speed of over 100mph and is valued at a staggering £25,000.
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| from swns.com |
Megan eventually fulfilled her childhood dream of building a Porsche 356/1 from a Volkswagen Beetle- with an added bonus. She was whisked to her dream wedding at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, Surrey by proud dad Viv in the transformed classic Porsche of her dreams!
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