The Villages - May 2021 - 62

Behind the Wheel

1971 BEETTLE
DUNE BUGGY
LARRY RICCI ENJOYS THE FLORIDA
WEATHER AND SUNSHINE IN HIS
CUSTOM DUNE BUGGY
STORY BY MARK ANDERSON | PHOTOS BY ROB WILKERSON
Anytime Village of Orange Blossom Hills resident Larry Ricci
takes his 1971 Beettle Dune Buggy out for a drive around The
Villages, he tends to draw some attention.
The dune buggy's unique look and bright
green paint job catch a lot of eyes all throughout
Central Florida.
" I wanted something that we could drive
around locally and be cool and fun, " Ricci said.
" I'm a former race car driver, and I like the open
wheel and the open cockpit. I've

I WANTED
SOMETHING THAT
WE COULD DRIVE
AROUND LOCALLY
AND BE COOL
AND FUN.

- Larry Ricci
62	

MAY 2021

always wanted one of these since I was a kid, and they were rare
in the '70s, and (I knew) finding one now would be difficult. "
The buggy's fiberglass body is a special custom brand called
a " Beettle, " made by the now-defunct Beettle Auto Haus from
1968 to 1971. The body sits on a shortened 1978 Volkswagen
floor pan, and a 1,600 cc dual-port Volkswagen engine provides
the buggy's power.
" The fiberglass body was a huge craze in the '60s and into
the '70s, " Ricci said. " And now there's only maybe two or three
manufacturers left that still build the fiberglass body. This is the
only one I've seen in the months I've been down here in Florida. "
Whether the manufacturer deliberately
misspelled " Beettle " to avoid copyright
infringement or it was a mistake, Ricci
says he is constantly having to explain
to car show attendees that
the difference in spelling
was not his fault.



The Villages - May 2021

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The Villages - May 2021 - Contents
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