A Herbie superfan decided to treat himself while recovering from a heart attack by purchasing the original Volkswagen Love Bug Beetle that became the unlikely star of a hit Disney movie franchise.
Luke Theochari, 65, shelled out tens of thousands of pounds to buy the Volkswagen Beetle which features classic Herbie cream paint with bold stripes and the iconic racing number 53 on the front and sides.
The lovable Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own has captivated audiences for decades, since its film debut 55 years ago in The Love Bug.
One boy who caught the love bug was Luke, who saw Herbie on the big screen when he was just 10 years old and decided at that moment that he would like to own the car one day.
Theochari, now 65, said: “I went to see the film with my cousin Mike. I saw it three times at the cinema in Ealing.
Luke Theochari, 65, shelled out tens of thousands of pounds to buy the Volkswagen Beetle, which features Herbie’s classic cream paint job with bold stripes and the iconic racing number 53 on the front and sides.
Herbie in ‘Love Bug’. The lovable Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own has captivated audiences for decades, since its film debut 55 years ago in The Love Bug.
‘Herbie popped wheelies and beat Hot Rod. He is magical! When you’re a kid, he creates a picture in your head.’
He is now the proud owner of one of only three cars used in the original 1969 film after purchasing one from an American dealer.
He said: ‘When I drive down the street people shout ‘Herbie! Herbie!’, but they don’t realize it’s the real car. That makes it a little easier to get around.
“When I park in stores, people come and look at the car and when I went to the coffee shop in the mornings, the workers, those really tough builders and roofers, would say, ‘Hi, Herbie!’ And they went and talked to the car!’
Its Beetle model, codenamed H2, was built specifically for the film’s racing scenes with a beefed-up Porsche 356 engine and loaded with performance upgrades, including four-wheel Porsche finned brakes.
The H2 has just under 85,000 miles on the clock and can cruise all day at 80 mph
Theochari has been restoring and repairing Beetles at his business, Terry’s Beetles in Hanwell, west London, for almost four decades and has a collection of 32 VW Beetles and three Porsche 911s.
Although he had originally decided to build a replica of Herbie from spare parts. But in 2005 Luke suffered a heart attack that changed everything.
The 65-year-old said: “The whole episode gave me time to reflect.
The Love Bug stars Michele Lee and Dean Jones. One boy who caught the Herbie love bug was 10-year-old Luke Theochari, who decided then and there that he wanted to own the car one day.
“While I was at home recovering, I watched movies with my daughter Flori, who was three years old at the time.
“We’d watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then when she went to bed, I’d put the Herbie movies on again and know what I wanted to do.”
Through his contacts, Theochari managed to locate one of the original cars that was owned by an American enthusiast. But getting her to separate from Herbie took a lot of persuasion.
After emailing back and forth, he finally convinced the American superfan to sell it to his British counterpart.
He said: ‘They asked: “How would you get the car to the UK?” So I told them, “You’re going to have to send him away on an empty stomach because he’s going to be on a ship for a couple of weeks and you don’t want him to get sick.”
“That’s how they treated Herbie in the movies and that’s how they talked about him.”
The car was placed in a container and shipped from Florida to Southampton before being taken by a carrier to Luke over a six-week period in 2007.
“When I delivered, the hairs on my arms and neck stood up and I ran over to Herbie to take a look at him,” Luke said.
“It caused a little scene in the streets with neighbors coming to take a look, but none of them knew it was the real Herbie. They all thought he had bought a replica.
Theochari does not say how much he paid for the H2, but another model used in the fourth film, Herbie Goes Bananas, sold for £80,000 at auction in 2015 and his insurers capped the value of his car at £100,000.
When not working, Mr Theochari loves sharing Herbie with others and once made a 212-mile round trip to Leicester for a sick three-year-old who was a crazy Herbie fan.
He said: ‘I got a message from his mother telling me how much he loved movies. The boy had undergone several serious operations and she asked me if she could take Herbie to her house.
“So I took Herbie out in a kid’s racing suit, similar to the one they wore in the first movie, and it was a great day!
‘My wife also took Herbie to sick children’s homes and took them to help them recover and I still take him to weddings to transport the bride and groom for free. I don’t get paid because Herbie isn’t hired!
A mistreated and damaged Herbie in the 1980s. Herbie goes crazy. Theochari does not say how much he paid for the H2, but another model used in the fourth Herbie Goes Bananas film sold for £80,000 at auction in 2015.
Lindsay Lohan starred in Herbie’s most recent film: Herbie Fully Loaded, which was released in 2006.
‘I have reached an age where it is increasingly difficult to move and do many things.
‘The brain wants, but the body can’t. So I’m slowing down a little, but I will always be tickled by Herbie and enjoy driving him. It’s nice to make people happy. “When you see people smiling as you drive down the road, it’s a lovely feeling.”
Now, thanks to Herbie, Theochari will appear on the big screen himself when he appears in a Volkswagen advert as part of a new campaign celebrating genuine Volkswagen fans.
The YourWagen advertising campaign will launch with a special 60-second advert on Saturday during Britain’s Got Talent.
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