thumb|A "Baja Bug"

A Baja Bug is an original Volkswagen Beetle modified as an all-terrain vehicle to operate off-road (open desert, sand dunes and beaches), although other versions of air-cooled Volkswagens are sometimes modified as well. Baja bugs often race in off-road desert races such as the Baja 1000. There are different classes for bugs, namely class 11, class 5 1600, and class 5 unlimited. According to desert racing association Score International, class 11 is a stock VW beetle with modifications limited to ground clearance and strength. Class 5 1600 rules state that a 1600 cc VW engine must be used and the car must have the exterior appearance of a "Baja bug" with body modification limited to whatever cutting is needed to install a consumer baja kit. Class 5 unlimited is any four-cylinder VW-style engine, and it must have Baja-style fenders and side panels, and VW-style suspension.. Another version of Baja Bug is Old Fusca, used for dirt racing in Paraná, Brazil. They are equipped with the AP engine from the early Volkswagen Golf generations, and can be fed by carburetor or electronic injection.

History

Baja Bugs originated in Southern California in the late 1960s as an inexpensive answer to the successful Volkswagen-based dune buggies of the mid-1960s, especially the Meyers Manx.

The building of the first Baja Bug is generally credited to Gary Emory (now of Parts Obsolete), circa 1968. Gary and his hot rodder father, Neil Emory, built the car in the bodyshop at the Chick Iverson Volkswagen dealership in Newport Beach, California; Gary worked in the parts department there after leaving school and Neil was working in the bodyshop.

The first Baja Bug in racing is credited to Dave Deal, the Californian cartoonist, in the Mexican 1000 of 1968 in Baja California. More power was attained by fitting dual port heads and modifying fuel injection systems from Volkswagen Type 3 engines to work on the Type 1 Beetle engine. Some installed the larger, 1.7, 1.8, and 2.0 Volkswagen Type 4 or Porsche 914 engine. Corvair engine transplants were another common way of achieving a large power hike.

File:Volkswagen Fusca n82.jpg|Baja Bug racing at a closed dirt circuit in southern Brazil

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See also

  • Meyers Manx
  • Tamiya Sand Scorcher
  • SCORE Class 5
  • SCORE Class 5-1600
  • SCORE Class 11
  • Fun cup, a one-make race for modified Beetles

References