The Art Of Not Giving Up. A Different Kind Of Volkswagen

Ultrace has firmly established itself as one of the premier automotive events in the world.

What was once a small, relatively unknown gathering of friends in a historic Polish town has turned into the favourite car show of many enthusiasts – myself included.

That being said, you can quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cars that are considered to be “Europe’s best”. You can also become overwhelmed by the sheer number of spectators walking around the Tarczynski arena in Wrocław, which was quite flooded with people. Spotting an interesting car in the crowd was near impossible.

But a ruby red gem caught my eye, hidden in the sea of people. This 1974 Volkswagen Brasilia, built by Josefine Lindqvist and her fiance, Fredrik Persson.

This Brasilia could easily fall into the category of being just another stance car; lowered on air suspension, with big wheels and a shiny paint job, that fits the bill of a lot of ‘show cars’ these days..

It’s only when you take a closer look, when you hear the stories about why this car was almost never made, that you quickly understand that there is more to this funky Volkswagen than meets the eye.

Getting the car to Sweden, panel beating the custom metal arches by hand and fabricating bespoke components for the air suspension are just some of the many challenges Josefine faced along the build. One of the more gut-punching ones? A cracked windshield that is almost impossible to source, now replaced with a custom polycarbonate alternative.

The inside of the car is just as mad. Imagine importing a car that has been left to rot in a tropical country like Brazil. Now imagine the wildlife Josefine must have found growing inside the Volkswagen before completely throwing out everything and custom making the parts from scratch. The real challenge was the reassembly.

Since this was a budget car for the people of Brazil, it was cheaply made. Nothing was straight, and the car came with a totally barren interior with few creature comforts. Even the centre console was scanned in CAD and 3D printed.

One thing I’m glad Josefine kept from the original car was the engine, granted in a much improved, polished version. It’s so easy to just take out an old motor and put in something newer and more reliable, but Josefine kept things original – and the 1600cc air-cooled flat-four has never looked better.

The color has to be one of my favorite features about the Brasillia. Being a car painter by trade, Josefine spent roughly 40 hours just mixing her perfect shade, creating five test colors across seven sessions, experimenting with color mixes, metallic flakes and clear coats.

I find trying to capture a colour’s true depth on camera a fun little challenge. I visited Josefine and her Volkswagen four times over the weekend just to make sure the sun was hitting the car just right, and doing the colour justice. As you can see, it looks rather special when in the warm Polish sun..

Building a car to this extent is a test of patience and perseverance. Challenges come up, parts break, delays happen and life has a habit of getting in the way – in Josefine’s case, major surgery. Without sounding cliché, it’s all part of the journey. Pushing through not only strengthens your skills for the next project, it also turns your vision into something truly meaningful, and uniquely yours. There’s no substitute for blood, sweat and tears.