A Volkswagen Microbus that survived the California wildfires earlier this year is now in better shape than it’s been in decades.
The automaker announced that it has finished restoration work on the white-over-blue 1977 T2 that was somehow left standing after the Palisades Fire. Now, after a few months of work at the automaker’s Oxnard Campus, the van named “Azul” is in better condition than it was before its owner, Megan Krystle Weinraub, parked it on a street in Malibu shortly before the blaze.
When the fire broke out on the west side of Los Angeles in early January, one can only assume that Weinraub assumed her beloved van was a goner. The blaze, which took 24 days to contain, burned 37 square miles, killed 12, and destroyed homes and businesses throughout the area. But, as a photo taken by the Associated Press’s Mark J. Terrill on Jan. 9 showed, Weinraub’s T2 managed to escape with some relatively minor char marks.
The photo soon went viral and earned Azul a new name—the “magic bus.” It also brought the vehicle to the attention of VW. The company reached out to Weinraub and offered to pick the van up, transport it to its Oxnard historical vehicle, and inspect it to see if it was still roadworthy. It was not, so it then offered to restore it to working order.
The process, which started earlier this spring, took over 2,000 hours to complete and saw the Oxnard vehicle team repair and replace over 900 parts, according to Motor1.com. Specialists from GE Kundenspor, a renowned Porsche restoration shop, were also brought in to help with the bodywork. And now the van is in as good of shape as it has been since leaving the factory in 1977.
Megan Krystle Weinraub inside the 1977 Volkswagen T2 Microbus “Azul”
Sam Dobbins/Volkswagen
“When the photo of Azul went viral, I felt like the entire world experienced a piece of my heart,” Weinraub said in a statement. “And when Volkswagen reached out to see if Azul really survived, I was touched and couldn’t believe it. Seeing it now, I feel it’s even more of a symbol of hope than it was before.”
Those who want to get the chance to see Weinraub’s T2 in person will be able to this weekend at the 2025 LA Autoshow. Azul will be on display at the VW booth from Friday, Nov. 21, to Sunday, Nov. 30. The van will then be shown at Los Angeles’s Petersen Automotive Museum from Thursday, Dec. 4, until Sunday, Jan. 5, of next year.
Click here for more photos of the 1977 Volkswagen T2 Microbus “Azul.”
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