A Volkswagen bus that survived the Palisades fireplace has been restored

Recovery from the Palisades and Altadena fires in January is ongoing, however one small brilliant spot has emerged from the spoil and darkness.

A blue-and-white 1977 Volkswagen T2 bus — a viral sensation after miraculously surviving the mass destruction of properties, faculties and companies — will probably be out there for public viewing following a significant restoration.

The revamped “Azul, the magic bus,” as 30-year-old proprietor Megan Weinraub calls it, will probably be featured at this yr’s Los Angeles Auto Show, which runs from Friday by means of Nov. 30 on the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown L.A. From there, the VW will probably be on show on the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard from Dec. 4 to Jan. 11 earlier than being returned to Weinraub.

For these unfamiliar with Weinraub’s bus, there’s a again story. As folks worldwide watched wildfires ravage neighborhoods round Los Angeles County in January, some discovered consolation within the story of Weinraub’s little engine that would.

A Volkswagen T2 bus sits amongst burned-out properties in Malibu on Jan. 9.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Her 1977 Volkswagen was left standing after the Palisades fireplace devastated the Malibu neighborhood the place Weinraub had parked it after a day of browsing. She discovered the car had survived when she noticed it in a robust picture taken by the Associated Press’ Mark J. Terrill. In the picture, amid the destruction and burned rubble, Weinraub’s brilliant blue-and-white VW stood seemingly intact.

During a Wednesday night occasion on the Petersen, Weinraub stated she couldn’t consider her eyes.

“It was crazy to see, but I knew it was mine because I’d parked it there,” she stated. “At first, I felt guilty because everyone did lose a lot, and then my things made it. So I was like, ‘Everyone is suffering.’ But everyone was like, ‘This bus is coming out in a positive way, as a beacon of hope.’ I would love for it to be a symbol of that. I am grateful that I will be the light in the times of darkness, and my bus is for that. I love that. I want to be of service.”

The picture was so placing that some folks on-line questioned if the {photograph} was someway manufactured by AI. “People were like, ‘She Photoshopped that,’” Weinraub stated. “I’m like, ‘Why would I do that?’ ”

However, as soon as Weinraub noticed her VW in individual, she found one thing. “It did burn,” she stated. “It just survived somehow.”

Gunnar Wynarski, left, and Farlan Robertson are two Volkswagen technicians who helped restore Weinraub’s VW.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

For Volkswagen, the state of affairs offered a chance. The German auto firm contacted Weinraub and provided to examine the car. VW introduced the bus to its location in Oxnard, a facility that homes a lot of the auto model’s historic autos. Volkswagen decided Weinraub’s autos wanted important mechanical repairs and bodywork to be prepared for the highway.

“It turned out that that photo that we all saw, that beautiful photo that Mark took, only showed Azul’s good side,” stated Rachael Zaluzec, senior vp of brand name advertising and marketing and buyer expertise for Volkswagen of America. “What we didn’t see was the other side of the vehicle that was really badly scarred from the fires. The bus required some pretty extensive work. Now, not just on the exterior, but also the mechanicals. We had to replace things like burnt-out wiring and hoses. There was a lot of bodywork, a lot of paint work that needed to be done.”

Although a full car restoration like this one may take years to finish, workers of Volkswagen of America’s Oxnard Engineering Campus spent the previous couple of months restoring Weinraub’s VW. The Oxnard crew repaired and changed mandatory inside and exterior items whereas conserving the bus’ ’70s spirit in tact. GE Kundensport offered further bodywork, and different contractors offered engine refurbishment and powder coating of varied elements.

Guests at Petersen Automotive Museum try a restored Volkswagen bus generally known as Azul.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Volkswagen unveiled the restored bus throughout a gap evening occasion on the Petersen in celebration of the 2025 L.A. Auto Show. To commemorate the mission, Volkswagen partnered with Candylab Toys to create a limited-edition picket model of the bus, which will probably be given away in the course of the auto present.

“She’s glowing,” Weinraub stated as her VW bus was revealed. “She looks beautiful.”

Fittingly, the photographer behind the viral picture, Terrill, was current, however on task like different photographers on the occasion.

“It’s all because of you,” Weinraub advised him between pictures.

“I would love to say that I saw it for what it was when I shot it,” Terrill stated. “That isn’t really the case. I saw it for what it was afterwards. While I was in the helicopter, I started looking through the pictures. I thought, ‘Oh, that’s a nice splash of color.’ What I saw was, ‘Oh, that’s so California.’

“You never know when a picture’s going to go viral,” Terrill stated. “Pictures take out on a life of their own sometimes. And that’s what happened with this. People saw it and they saw something more in it than I did. They saw what someone else coined as a ‘beacon of hope.’ It’s gratifying that it means that to so many people.”

Azul the Volkswagen bus was restored by VW of America’s Oxnard Engineering Campus.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The inside of Weinraub’s restored VW.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Volkswagen stated it made contributions within the quantity of $250,000 to the nonprofit California Fire Foundation, which helps first responders and their households all through the state.

Although VW declined to share the price of the renovation, the auto firm stated 50% of the car was repaired with greater than 900 elements, and 2,080 hours had been put into the restoration, from analysis to labor.

Megan Weinraub sits her restored Volkswagen T2 bus.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

For Weinraub, a customized surfboard artist, Volkswagen’s efforts have been life-changing. “Two years ago, I made a vision board and put a Volkswagen bus on it,” stated Weinraub, who lives in Laguna Beach. “I still have it. Then, I wrote magic, magic, magic, magic, magic all over it. And then, literally, this happens. I’m like, ‘Shut up. Like, I low-key manifested it.’

“I want to use this as a clean slate to start over and re-create my life,” stated Weinraub, including that she plans to take her restored VW on a number of tenting journeys, together with one to Big Sur. “This was a perspective change.”