Kathleen Brooks, owner of this red Beetle (nicknamed "Annie"), purchased the car new in December of 1966, and has used it to commute to work for the past 51 years.

Brooks works with breast cancer patients and survivors to provide comfort and cosmetic care during treatment and recovery. She's also a three-time breast cancer survivor herself. If anyone deserves a free factory restoration for their car, it's her.



Volkswagen took 11 months at the company's Mexico factory to fully restore Brooks' Beetle, replacing 40 percent of its parts, and saving 357 individual pieces. The restoration team even went as far as to recreate all of the original stickers Brooks put on the car over her years of ownership. In order to restore the paint to its original condition, the team took the color from inside the glove box and matched it to the sandblasted, restored chassis.

Volkswagen

Project manager and mechatronics engineer Augusto Zamudio said the goal wasn't to create a museum quality Beetle, but to bring the car back to a state where Brooks could drive and enjoy it for many more years to come. As a result, the car got new, upgraded disc brakes, a modern vintage-look radio, a new wiring harness, a refreshed suspension, and a rebuilt engine and transmission. As you can see in the picture above, the end result is a stunning piece of machinery. Here's a video VW put together of the entire project:

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We hope Brooks and her car will enjoy many more miles of reliable fun together. Judging by the fantastic factory restoration job, we're confident that's exactly what'll happen.

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