In the early 1950s, the employees of Gebr�der Beutler in Thun set about redesigning a VW K�fer that would emphasize the sporty note of the Wolfsburg four-cylinder engine, similar to the Karman Ghia. However, they succeeded even better. The vehicle was awarded the �golden rose� at the 1954 Geneva Motor Show.

In contrast to the VW-Karmann cooperation, however, the brothers recognized that such a sporty body also required adequate performance. By increasing the engine output from 30 to 40 hp using a Judson supercharger, the small car weighing just under 900 kg was accelerated to a good 135 kph. The Cabrio Spezial managed the sprint from zero to one hundred km/h in only 15 seconds - a value for which the VW standard version needed 30 seconds.

Presumably in order to prevent the Karmann cooperation from being rivaled, VW management rejected the Beutler version. The only one of three examples built can be seen today in Wolfsburg.