Knepper 1303 RS-E: a stealthy Tesla-powered VW Beetle EV

The classic Volkswagen Beetle is one of the most recognizable shapes ever put on wheels, which is why restomods based on it keep coming. Yet the Knepper 1303 RS-E from Knepper Bugs & More stands out for how deftly it disguises its modern hardware. At first glance it reads as a carefully preserved 1975 Beetle, but under the skin it lives much closer to the world of quick electric cars than to the air-cooled era.

The donor car started life in California. It was found in 2016 and shipped to Germany for a ground-up transformation. The original flat air-cooled engine is long gone—its place taken by an electric motor from a Tesla Model S Performance. Output is quoted at up to 638 hp, though the project team points to figures closer to 596 hp in this build. Power comes from a 48 kWh battery made from Porsche Taycan modules, with an estimated range of about 250 km.

To ensure that much power doesn’t turn the car into a handful, the chassis was comprehensively reworked. Much was borrowed from the Porsche 944, including Turbo S brakes, aluminum control arms, adjustable struts and beefier anti-roll bars. The look, however, stays deliberately low-key: Marathon Blue Metallic paint, subtly widened carbon rear fenders, a carbon spoiler and classic wheels that hide far more capability than they suggest. The restraint feels intentional—and effective.

Inside, the theme of old-meets-new continues with Recaro sport seats, a refreshed dashboard, retro-style instruments and a tidy electronic interface in place of the usual lever. The price isn’t disclosed; this is essentially a bespoke build. The workshop also offers other configurations, including alternative power setups, which makes the RS-E feel less like a one-off curiosity and more like a thoughtful template for electrified classics.