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Antarctic One
StenGuns - March 6th, 2004 at 12:30 PM

I don't know if these have been circulated before but they are nice snapshot of history.. Shows Antarctic One being loaded for Mawson Base in 1963

68AutoBug - March 6th, 2004 at 12:50 PM

I hadn't seen those photos before.. There have been 3 beetles in Antartica , Antartica 1 & 2 were VW sponsored.... there was also another early beetle taken to Antartica by its owner , it was being driven over a frozen lake when the ice gave way... the pair of fellows in it were lucky to get out alive as the car sank, with doors open, in a very short time.... No one knows what happened to the two Antartica Beetles that were returned to Australia after their stint in Antartica... The front ends had to be welded up , as the rough ice surface kept cracking the front end ... I believe that was the only problem with the cars. Their doors used to hit the front guards occasionally when opened in winds over 100kmh .

Lee Noonan

StenGuns - March 6th, 2004 at 12:56 PM

Antarctic 1 ended up in the VW Museum in Germany.. It was retsored and shipped by Aussie Enthusiasts.. You can see their story with pics at the following link..

http://members.netro.com.au/~vwcc/BUDELbadcambergandbeyond.htm 

The pix I posted are in the national govt archive, which is nice..

Rgds


Quote:
Originally posted by 68AutoBug
I hadn't seen those photos before.. There have been 3 beetles in Antartica , Antartica 1 & 2 were VW sponsored.... there was also another early beetle taken to Antartica by its owner , it was being driven over a frozen lake when the ice gave way... the pair of fellows in it were lucky to get out alive as the car sank, with doors open, in a very short time.... No one knows what happened to the two Antartica Beetles that were returned to Australia after their stint in Antartica... The front ends had to be welded up , as the rough ice surface kept cracking the front end ... I believe that was the only problem with the cars. Their doors used to hit the front guards occasionally when opened in winds over 100kmh .

Lee Noonan

silver - March 6th, 2004 at 03:30 PM

Antarctica 1 was lost.. the one in the Museum is a replica based on the same year model Beetle.

StenGuns - March 6th, 2004 at 03:35 PM

You're 100 percent correct.. Apologies to Lee
..
Rgds

Quote:
Originally posted by silver
Antarctica 1 was lost.. the one in the Museum is a replica based on the same year model Beetle.

68AutoBug - March 7th, 2004 at 09:14 PM

Yes,
I spoke to a fellow who had been to the German museum, and He had checked out the front end... there was no extra welding on it , so it wasn't the "real" Antartica 0ne...... so if any Forum member has a late 1962 or 63 Beetle with a lot of extra welding on the front end of the chassis... You could be driving the famous "Antartica One" or "two" ???

Lee Noonan