Going bananas for Herbie
Joy on streets as Mirror takes star car for a spin
As we crawl through the heavy London traffic, passersby wave and beep at me. Men in white vans hang their heads out the window and people get their phones out to record footage.
But although I can feel my head starting to swell with self importance, it isn’t me they’re staring at.
I’m in one of the Volkswagen Beetles used in the 1969 movie The Love Bug.
It was built specifically for the film’s race scenes so has a beefed-up Porsche 356 engine, but remains superficially unaltered with the original red, white and blue stripes, and the number 53 adorning the doors, bonnet and boot.
Driving the car is Herbie’s proud owner, Luke.
We sit in the comfy leather seats – a snug fit given my 6ft 1in stature – and as Herbie trundles on Luke explains how he’s been enamoured with the vehicle since watching the first of six Herbie films at the cinema.
He says: “I went to see it with my cousin, I was only 10 at the time and I went three times.
“A few years later my uncle bought a Beetle and they called that car Herbie. I used to go around the house every Saturday and help him clean up and he’d give me a lift in Herbie.”
By the age of 21 Luke had saved up the £450 for his first Beetle, and was soon buying, fixing and selling the cars.
In 1986 he bought his garage in Ealing called Terry’s Beetles and has been repairing vintage Volkswagens ever since, as well as sometimes racing them.
Although Luke was always surrounded by Beetles, he never got Herbie out of his mind.
“In about 2002 I planned to build my
own Herbie,” he says. “So started collecting parts ”
But a heart attack in 2005 put this plan aside and made him focus on what he really wanted – which was of course to own the real thing.
“I did some homework, and made lots of phone calls. And I found the original car that was for sale in America.” he reveals. It took a year of back and forth emailing as the owner wanted to ensure that Herbie would go to the right buyer.
Luke says he managed to secure the car from Florida by writing about the vehicle like he was a person. “They asked me to describe how I would ship Herbie to England,” he says. “And I said to them, ‘We would have to send him out with no fuel in the petrol tank, ie, no food in his belly in case he gets seasick on the way.’” In March 2007 Herbie was finally delivered to Luke and when he first laid eyes on the little car, the hairs stood up on his arms. We park up and I stand up through the sunroof and wave like an excited toddler. On a busy high street in Ealing, seeing Herbie brightens the day of many people passing by. Michelle Hodnett, 58, from Shropshire, stops the pram containing 10-month-old grandchild Evelyn, to ogle at the car. “It is amazing,” she says, upon finding out it’s the one from the film. “I loved Herbie. I brought my daughters up on those films.”
Hendy Ryce, 61, a delivery driver, is very excited. “I wouldn’t have known it was the real thing,” he says. Herbie fans are of all ages because of a 2005 reboot Herbie: Fully Loaded
This is a real dream. I’ve lived my life believing in Herbie.. He is my mate
LUKE THEOCHARI
OWNER OF FILM CAR HERBIE
Cameron featuring Murray, Lindsay 26, from Lohan. Cincinnati, Actors Ohio, and Hannah Holmes, 25, from Bendigo, Australia, have just gradud -ated from the nearby Met Film School. Hannah says: “I immediy -ately recognised the car. I am not into cars, but I am into films.” Jacob Dawson, 22, a software developer from Ruislip, says: “I am surped it isn’t guarded by guys with guns.” Luke reveals this is a common reaction and many expect the car to be held under lock and key. Although Herbie is valuable Luke is hesitant to say how much it cost him, but another model used in the fourth film Herbie Goes Bananas, which hit cinemas in 1980, fetched £80,000 at auction in 2015.
But Luke says: “I can’t put a price on him because he is not for sale. Even my
wife didn’t know how much I paid.” Luke’s late wife Helen, who passed away in 2015 aged 49, was once crowned Miss VW in a beauty contest. They met when she was a customer in the 1980s before she came to work at the garage. “She used to come down to this workshop and buy parts for her Beetle.” Luke says. The pair had their first date sitting in a green Beetle, talking for hours. Although Luke may have lost the love of his life, he finds comfort in his old friend and still often watches the old movies.
“If there is nothing on the TV I want to watch I’ll think ‘I haven’t seen Herbie in a week’ and stick it on,” he laughs .“I am just really connected with the car.”
When we arrive back in the garage, after thanking Herbie for the ride, he says: “This is a dream come true. I’ve lived my life believing in Herbie and I still believe. He is my mate.”
And as I head for the train home, I hear the tooting of a horn. It may just be Herbie letting me know he agrees…
Luke and Herbie feature in a new advert for Volkswagen as part of their YourWagen campaign.