French Roadtrip: VW Bus Show 2019

Aurelie, our European Account Manager lives in France, has a whole bunch of cool cars with her partner Nico, and between them and a few mates, they run a local air-cooled club called Kronenbus. Last month they went on a roadtrip to Chérizet for the French VW Bus show, and here's how it went...

Nice Bus Nico!

Travelling in the latest member of the Kronenbus collection, Aurelie and Nico hit the road in their 1951 Barndoor Panel van - It looks ratty, but has seen fresh body panels where required and sports a painted-on patina, applied by the previous owner and distressed further by Nico.

Quick Engine Rebuild...

Their club single cab pick-up had seen a recent engine rebuild, based on our SSP 1641cc long block, so the 500km drive there was a bit of a shakedown! Loaded with a massive Kronenbus sign, a surfboard and slammed on SSP Fooks wheels it shouts the club name loud and clear!

Destination: Chérizet

Set in the Bourgone region famed for its wine, the show welcomed around 1700 buses for the weekend of 19-21st July. Team Kronenbus arrived early and set up camp on the edge of a lake, with showers close by to cool down and keep clean!

Not enough time

The show was huge, and on top of a few thousand VW Buses, there was a festival thrown into the mix too. Live music played all day, hot-air balloon flights, horse and cart rides, a swap meet village with 100+ stands and then fireworks as it got dark.

Biere o'clock

Food and drink is a big part of french culture, and local artisan market traders pitched up to keep campers fed and watered throughout the weekend.

Checking out the campsite

Even a storm on Saturday night couldn't dampen spirits, and it was all smiles and happy campers in Chérizet.

The perfect weekend away?

Aurelie would like to say thanks to Pascal Amodru and his golden team for their top-notch organisation, everything was perfect...

Good news and bad news...

We think from this picture Nico was pleased to be awarded a top 20 trophy, less good was the fact that the Single Cab had developed an oil leak and whilst the crew had tools and aircooled VW parts with them, it took three fixes, before it then decided to break a wheel bearing on the way home instead!

Do it again? Of course!

With the mechanical problems it took Nico, Aurelie and friends all night to get home but that hasn't put them off. They'll be out on the road again for Le Bug Show at Spa Francorchamps on 10-11th August, do say hello if you see them!