Category Archives: Paul Newman

Paul Newman was one of a kind, his obituary listed him as an actor, director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and race care driver, so it’s no surprise that he owned a one of a kind ride. The Academy Award winner purchased a new Volkswagen Beetle in 1963, and decided he wanted it to be a “sleeper” (a car that looks slow and isn’t flashy, but is a beast under the hood). He gave his little slow poke of a car to legendary Indy Car builder Jerry Eisert, who gave it a full race tuned suspension, several parts straight out of Indy Cars and a mid engine 300+hp Ford V8 hooked to a 5 speed ZF trans-axle from the Ford GT 40 (I’m not even sure what that means, but I felt manly just typing it). The result? The fastest “girl car” ever driven by one of the manliest men the world has ever seen. It was featured in magazines like Hot Rod and is believed to be in a VW ad with Newman from the late 60s. Basically, the car was Newman in a nutshell: understated, casual, and awesome all at the same time.