Horace the Hate Bug
(Insert dramatic music here... ) You are about to be introduced to pure evil on wheels...
This is Horace the Hate Bug.
One of two cars built by Disney for use in the 1997 made for TV movie "The Love Bug"
In the classic battle of good versus evil, this is Herbie's alter ego...his brother of sorts...the evil twin
that tries to kill him in the film.
Horace had all the tricks in the film...lasers to cut Herbie in half, rocket boosters, big wild
screw type rippers that came out of the wheels...all the trick bad-guy-kill-you sort of stuff.
In the climax of the film Herbie and Horace line up for the ultimate death race.
It is a heated hardcore battle the whole way
Horace pulls out all the unfair evil gadgets.
A lot of these effects were computer generated of course...
Herbie wins (of course) as Horace leaps to his death in a fire filled crash...back to the depths of Hell where he belongs.
Moments before impact...front bumper frowning...bye bye Horace and good riddance!
Flash forward to today and Horace is still very alive and in the hands of a Southern California based
true film car movie buff that has decided it is time to find Horace a new home to make room for another vehicle.
This is Horace #2 from the film.
Fully documented as being the real deal.
The other is located in Texas in the hands of a collector.
This Horace is fully operational and titled and is driven regularly to shows and events.
Personalized tag.
Loaded with wild body modifications that were done to make the car totally unique.
The car has had some repainting, (hood, fenders, small touch ups) but otherwise remains
just as it was when used in the film.
Perhaps my favorite detail is the big evil front bumper built from multiple bumper blades.
The interior is all black...stock seats up front.
There are some small paint flaws and age issues to the finish that one could repair if desired
but the current owner has been fanatical about trying to keep the car as original as possible.
Any item he has replaced or any modification he has done, he has kept the original "film used"
parts and stored them away safely.
Minor modifications were done to make the car more usable...
Originally when built by the studio, the car did not have functional side windows.
The oval panel with the hole was all it had...so the owner re-installed the functional roll up glass
so that the car could be sealed from the weather.
When the window is down it looks exactly as in the film.
The owner has tried to replicate some of the computer generated special effects items in real life to
help give the car a little more detail.
He has also added some functional items such as back up sensors in the taillight housings
(original film used housings retained)
A whole pile of memorabilia comes with the car including this awesome one off custom telephone
Too cool
The top plate is a replica of the original plate from the movie
A black version of the current plate and the actual registered plate
DMV paperwork copies with documentation of Disney ownership in the past
Copies of the film on DVD and tape
Huge file of records and receipts
Original poster
And the car of course.
Such a wild looking machine
So fun.
The underside is quite solid.
Mechanically the car has been fully rebuilt and improved for better performance and handling and reliable use.
Extra oil capacity and filter
1835cc performance engine
The underside of the engine lid
Engine runs superb...car is really a fantastic driver.
When built originally for the film the mechanical parts were not really sorted out
the car just needed to run and go for filming.
Now it is fully sorted and runs and drives tight, safe and solid.
One project the owner has been working on is a replica of the "ripper" that came out of the wheel in the film.
Here are a couple shots from the film in a notebook that accompanies the car
Too fun
Magazine articles on the filming of the movie from the VW magazines.
Some great shots and documentation here
Too fun!
I was actually involved during the filming of the movie...dealt with props and set dressing
as a vendor, and also was allowed on set to photograph the happenings for use in a magazine article for Hot VW's
There I am!
It was a blast, really fun to see Herbie in action and the evil Horace himself .
Some original press release info.
When Disney was done with the cars they went to Cinema Vehicle Services
who sold them to the collector in Texas.
I actually assisted with the deal by going and getting both Horace cars from the CVS warehouse
and doing some work on the cars to make them operational again and then shipped them to Texas.
Horace was traded with another collector a few years back for a Herbie used in the most recent film
and then the current owner bought it from him.
Here is some more documentation
This hand made sign was found under Horace's seat...not sure if it was related to the film
but it remains with the car.
Interior shot
Visibilty out the rear window...well...not so good.
Car was 6 volt electrics when used in the film...is 12 volt now.
Joystick control for some of the owner installed special effects.
Rear seat
Yes...Herbie and Horace have made up after the film...in fact they share a room together now!
Its fun to see the details of how they did the work...the louvers on the hood are actually a seperate panel that was welded right over the existing hood...
the spot welds visible from underneath
The current owner is an engineer and he does a lot of special effects creation stuff on the side.
He has fully wired and hooked up an amazing array of effects on the car from lighting, to sound effects and more.
Everything is labled and cleanly done.
A rear view camera has been installed to aid in backing up the car with the poor rear vision.
Engine build is very fresh!!
Disc brakes installed
Functional turn signals installed
The big metal brakets were used for towing the car during filming from a camera truck.
In the film a laser comes out of the hood handle...the owner fabricated one of his own
A side view mirror is fabricated to come on and off easily for added visibility on the road
It just attaches to the edge of the body under the hood.
Racing belts have been installed
The wild custom steering wheel is original to the car...just as done for the film.
Love those louvers!
The neon tube was in the car during the film to give a green glow to the dash.
Speaker for the sound effects.
In the film when Herbie is discovered, a plate was found under his hood that lead
them to his original builder...Dr Gustav Stumpfel.
The bad guy in the film goes and finds the doctor and forces him to build another one...
But the bad guy puts a bit of himself in the mix and out pops Horace as evil as can be.
The paint pen mark identifies it as the number 2 car...
The plate was made by the owner to replicate the one on the Herbie in the film...but with Horace's details.
The extended rear fenders are WILD!
In the glove box has been hidden some additional features such as instrumets to monitor the engine and the rear parking sensors.
Switches to operate some of the special effects
Screen for the rear view camera
A video screen that replicates the one seen in the film (but never actually in the car)
shows the laser tracking device... this plays a loop of the scene from the film
Pretty slick
Here is the laser on the hood handle
New tires by the way...
Green domelight
Gene Berg shifter
Autographs from people involved in the film
Love the steering wheel!!
Paint has a few flaws here and there such as this stained area...
these could be corrected of course, but they have been left as is.
Love the bumper!!
Here are all of the replaced parts...ANYTHING that the owner removed and replaced including the original engine block
that was in the car during filming, was retained.
Originally in the film the headlight leses had the black out treatment directly on the glass.
That makes for headlights that dont work in the real world
so these custom covers were made that slip right over the lights.
Now you can see at night!
This tag was in the window during filming...
The crazy side windows.
The even crazier rear window
It is all Horace!
What a wild car.
A part of movie history, and a part of the whole Herbie dynasty.
With that all pushed aside...the car on it's own right is a pretty cool creation.
Certainly a one of a kind (well two of a kind...)
A wonderful addition to any collection...this is museum quality stuff
or a super fun car to bring to the shows.
Asking
$25,000 obo
For More Info...CALL
951-767-1600
or email oldbug@earthlink.net