4/27/20 Target promotional Volkswagen Concept 1 Beetle

On one Saturday in November, back in 2000, there was a store promotional going on when the doors opened to any Target at 9 a.m.: either get a free camera or this Volkswagen Concept 1 from Matchbox.  I went to one store opening and got the Concept 1, thankfully, and there was two variations on this model with some having the regular 5-spokes and others the new-style 5-spoke wheels, all on short card blister design with a coupon for a Matchbox set in the back.  Each store got at least 1,000 beetles to give away and all were painted red with some light glitter applied to the clearcoat with Matchbox logo just behind the front doors.  As mentioned and showed many times in this time capsule the Concept 1 Beetle was introduced in 1996 based on the 1994 concept car that previewed the next Beetle that would be front-engine, water-cooled, based on the VW Golf platform and would enter production in 1998 as the New Beetle.  It wasn’t until 2000 that Matchbox released a production version of the New Beetle as yet again another concept car, this time a convertible that would not be in production until 2003, yet still the Concept 1 was a popular choice and was the early leader in the now popular segment of air-cooled VW collectors.  Nothing really stands out on this version, though it was cool back then to get a free car promo from Target with no cost!

Specifications:

· Engine: 2.0L DOHC I-4 114 hp.

· Transmission: 5-speed manual est.

· 0-60 mph: 8.0 sec. est.

· Real vehicle price: $20,000 est. 1999

Rating:  4.9 out of 5 stars