Herbie rides again! Superfan recovering from heart attack treats himself by buying the original VW Love Bug car that became a global movie star

A Herbie superfan while recovering from a heart attack treated himself to the original Volkswagen Love Bug that went on to become a global move star in its own right. 

Luke Theochari, 65, forked out tens of thousands of pounds to buy the Volkswagen Beetle which includes Herbie's classic cream paint job with bold stripes and the iconic 53 racing number on the front and sides.  

The lovable Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own has been been charming audiences for decades now ever since its film debut 55 years ago in The Love Bug. 

One child who caught the love bug for Herbie was a 10-year-old Luke Theochari who decided there and then he wanted to own the car one day. 

Now 65, Mr Theochari said: 'I went to see the film with my cousin Mike. I saw it three times at the cinema in Ealing.

'Herbie pulled wheelies and beat the Hot Rod. He's magic! He won races in a car that was loved by its owners and as a child it creates an image in your head.'

Now he is the proud owner of one of the only three cars used in the original 1969 movie after buying one from an American dealer. 

He said: 'When I'm driving down the street people shout 'Herbie! Herbie!', but they don't realise it's the real car. That does make it a bit easier to get around.

'When I park up at the shops people come and look at the car and when I used to go to the cafe in the mornings the workmen - those really hard builders and roofers would say 'Hi Herbie!' and they'd go and talk to the car!'

His Beetle model - codenamed H2 - was built specifically for the movie's race scenes with a beefed-up Porsche 356 engine and loaded with performance upgrades, including Porsche finned brakes on all four wheels. 

H2 has just short of 85,000 miles on the clock and can cruise all day at 80mph 

Mr 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 911's.

While he had originally settled on building a replica of Herbie from spare parts. But then in 2005 Luke had a heart attack which changed everything.  

The 65-year-old said: 'The whole episode gave me time to reflect.

'While I was at home recovering I'd watch films with my daughter Flori who was three at the time.

'We'd watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then when she went to bed I'd put on the Herbie films again and I just knew what I wanted to do.'

Through his contacts Mr Theochari managed to track down one of the original cars which was owned by an American fan. But getting him to part with 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 said to them "You'll have to send him off with an empty belly because he'll be on a ship for a couple of weeks and you don't want him getting sick".

'That's how Herbie was treated in the movies and that's how they spoke of him.'

The car was put into a container and shipped over from Florida to Southampton before being taken by transporter to Luke over a six-week period in 2007.

'When I took delivery the hairs on my arms and back of my neck stood on end and I ran to Herbie to have a look,' said Luke.

'It caused a bit of a scene in the streets with neighbours coming to have a look but none of them knew it was the real Herbie. They all thought I'd bought a replica.'

Mr Theochari is tight-lipped about how much he paid for H2 but another model used in the fourth film Herbie Goes Bananas sold for £80,000 at an auction in 2015 and his insurers have capped the value of his car at £100,000.

When he's not working Mr Theochari loves to share Herbie with others and once made a 212-mile round trip to Leicester for a sick three-year-old boy who was a mad Herbie fan.

He said: 'I had a message from his mum telling me how much he loved the films. The boy had undergone several serious operations and she wondered if I could drive Herbie up to their home.

'So I took Herbie up complete with a kid's racing outfit for him to wear - similar to what they wore in the first film - and it was a great day!

'My wife would also take Herbie to the homes of sick kids and give them a ride to help give them a boost and I still take him to weddings to transport bride and grooms around for free. I don't charge because Herbie's not for hire!

'I've got to an age now where it's getting harder getting around and doing lots of things.

'The brain wants to, but the body can't. So I'm slowing down a little bit but I'll always have a tickle with Herbie and just enjoy driving him. It's nice to make people happy. When you see people smiling as you're driving down the road it's a lovely feeling.'

Now, thanks to Herbie, Mr Theochari will appear on the big screen himself when he features in a Volkswagen advert as part of a new campaign that celebrates genuine Volkswagen fans. 

The YourWagen ad campaign will be launched with a special 60-second advert on Saturday during Britain's Got Talent.