A Baja Bug is an original Volkswagen Beetle modified to operate off-road (open desert, sand dunes and beaches), although other versions of air-cooled Volkswagens are sometimes modified as well. Baja bugs often race in off road desert races such as the Baja 1000. There are different classes for bugs, namely class 11, class 5 1600, and class 5 unlimited. According to desert racing association Score International, class 11 is a stock VW beetle with modifications limited to ground clearance and strength. Class 5 1600 rules state that a 1600 cc VW engine must be used and the car must have the exterior appearance of a "baja bug" with body modification limited to whatever cutting is needed to install a consumer baja kit. Class 5 unlimited is any 4 cylinder VW-style engine, and it must have Baja-style fenders and side panels, and VW-style suspension. History Baja Bugs originated in Southern California in the late 1960s as an inexpensive answer to the successful Volkswagen-based dune buggies of the mid-1960s, especially the Meyers Manx. The building of the first Baja Bug is generally credited to Gary Emory (now of Parts Obsolete), circa 1968. Gary and his hot rodder father, Neil Emory, built the car in the bodyshop at the Chick Iverson Volkswagen dealership in Newport Beach, California; Gary worked in the parts department there after leaving school and Neil was working in the bodyshop. The first Baja Bug in racing is credited to Dave Deal, the Californian cartoonist, in the Mexican 1000 of 1968 in Baja California. The first fiberglass Baja kit (bug eye kit) was not introduced until 1969 by the Miller-Havens company. The original "Bugeye" kit by Miller-Havens Enterprises was widely copied - Drino Miller estimated that at least 8 of the original 10 kits sold were “Splashed” (used to make copy moulds). Miller-Havens modified the rear panels of the original Bugeye kit in mid 1971 to add a longer engine cowl and longer rear fenders that original VW Bug rear lights could be mounted to. It was this 1971 kit that inspired the Tamiya Sand Scorcher radio controlled Baja Bug. The 1971 update was also due to updated regulations in California regarding engine coverage. In many US states and other countries, the headlight spacing of the Bugeye kits was illegal - the headlights were close together in the front panel, similar to early Land Rovers. In mid-1972, Don Rountree of