Feature Shoot: A Bug called Raggamuffin

In the motoring world I see so many different styled and themed cars and they're all unique in their own way.  Some people are fans of "different" styles while others are haters, but at the end of the day the way a car looks is up to the owner. This Beetle from Badass Kustoms is pretty sweet, I like the ratty style, especially the way the car can turn heads when by all accounts it really shouldn't. To me, that's one successfully carried out theme. This shoot was done with available light at the remnants of the Petzetakis plant in Pretoria and it happened just before an event called Area 51 kicked off. The venue is absolutely awesome and was the perfect setting for a car with this styling. Jaco Venter, owner of Badass Kustoms, did a great job with his Bug, actually with all his cars. 

For a little more on the bug, take a look at an extract from the article I wrote to go along with it - published in SA Hotrods:

​Firstly to get the basics out of the way, we find a stock 1600 twin port 4-banger using an original setup with the addition of a 32mm Weber carb as well as a custom side exhaust system in 50mm. The gearbox is original too, actually all the mechanics are pretty much what left the factory, this is more about the styling.  The first thing you notice about Raggamuffin is the stance, this Bug is a proper belly scraper. Jaco fiddled with the suspension, the old car now sports an adjustable front beam setup and some lowering plates in the back, clearly set as low as possible. This is pretty effective and looks wicked with the way the Bug’s rear wheels camber themselves in when the car is dropped so low. Those rear wheels are original but have been widened to 8J, and to be completely different the front wheels now measure it at just 4J. The wheels have been furnished in candy apple red paint with custom white walls, some original dome hubcaps have been kept on. Cornering at speed is never going to happen, but this car isn’t about speed.   

After the stance and wheels. It’s the rest of the exterior that has you looking a little closer to see what’s what. The main colour of the car is in a pastel violet / blue colour with the old weathered patina, there’s spots where paint is missing, and it looks just right, no need to fix. The side steps match this look too, but have a matte coat to finish it off. To match the wheels there’s candy apple red in the trimmings and the taillights are full cherry red. Up front the headlights have a yellow tint, a cool contrast to the paintwork, but adding to the lighting is an old school Starlux spotlight mounted on the front and a brake light at the rear (obviously). To add to the old theme there’s pop out rear windows with a porno Piranha rear window louvre and finishing it all off is the original bumper over riders and some pretty wicked Badass Kustoms door decals...

Some shots from that awesome warehouse...