The moving story of an Ovali
04/18/2025
This VW 1200 Export from 1957 has an eventful history behind it. The first owner drove it for 14 years, until her early death in 1971. Her husband put the "Ovali" in the garden as a memento of his wife. There it slowly rotted away and, like Sleeping Beauty, was in danger of being engulfed by a bramble bush. At least vandals kept away from it.
In 1989, the garden had to be cleared and the Beetle was put up for sale for 120 marks in the local advertising paper. The biggest challenge when buying it, however, was salvaging it. In his youthful recklessness, 19-year-old Florian Kalff dared to take on the project. But it almost failed immediately, as the car could not be moved due to rusted brakes.
Even heavy equipment was unable to pull the Beetle out of the boggy garden. The only chance they had, and for little money, was to get the car ready to drive again on the spot. Pictures of the rescue operation can be seen today in the video documentary "The Oval Beetle from the Westerwald Grave" on YouTube. The car in its current condition was on display at the Techno Classica .
After recovery, the brakes and exhaust were quickly repaired and the car was ready for its first VW meeting in its "garden look". However, the pubescent inscription ("Sex Volt Racing Team") quickly affixed to the rear window divided opinion. Not all participants were enthusiastic, but a few younger spectators were. And so this Ovali became the grandfather of the "Rat Look" and quickly found imitators.
