Americans call them Love Bugs, the French call them Ladybirds and the Mexicans call them Belly Buttons (because everybody's got one) but here in the UK they are known simply as Beetles.

If ever a car can be said to have crossed the border between mode of transport and cultural icon, the Beetle is it. Conceived by engineer-cum-entrepreneur Dr Ferdinand Porsche in 1935 and adopted by Adolf Hitler as the People's Car, or Volkswagen, it survived both the brilliance of its maker and the notoriety of its mentor to become the best loved car the world has ever known.

Since production started in 1938, nearly 22 million Beetles have crawled out of factories worldwide. And the number continues to grow, with the classic Beetle still being produced alongside its glamorous new Golf-based successor at the Puebla factory in Mexico.

In absolute terms it is no longer the best-selling car in the world, having recently been eclipsed by the Toyota Corolla, but whereas the Japanese model has been through eight generations and as many different body styles, the Beetle has barely changed from that first hump-backed prototype.

Quite how this humble carry-all managed to transcend the life expectancy of a normal car and the inevitable descent into the murky, flat-capped world of classic car buffs which follows, is hard to explain.

It may be more than 60 years old but the Beetle was, is and always will be the very definition of cool - despite the fact that your parents and probably even your grandparents drove one. And now that that the doyen of all things tasteful, Austin Powers, is taking to the road in a new-shape Beetle for his latest blockbuster film, its place in fashion history is assured for future generations, too.

Not that Beetle fans need any reminding. Today, more than 20,000 aficionados will flock to the annual Bug Jam at the Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire to indulge in an orgy of cars, music and just about everything else that teenagers can and usually do get up to.

The Bug Jam, it appears, is not like your average classic car show. The traditional smells of petrol and polish will be complemented by wafts of cheap booze, while Prodigy star Liam Howlett will be pumping out the tunes.

It is events like this which Liam reckons are the key to the Beetle's continued popularity. "It draws so many different kinds of people together: old, young, wild, traditional. Nobody cares so long as you're part of the group."

Indeed, when Liam was first invited to the Bug Jam in 1993 the first thing he did was rush out to buy a Volkswagen camper van so that he and the band could feel part of the scene rather than stay in the style which their not inconsiderable fortune would allow. "I've had every kind of car imaginable since then, from Ferraris to Lamborghinis but I've had nothing that's has as much character."

Ivan McCutcheon, editor of the unofficial Beetle fanzine Volksworld, puts it down to more practical considerations. "Beetles have always been cheap, practical, characterful cars that hold their value well and rarely let you down," he says. "They're also easy to work on, with a massive after-market in spares and accessories."

You only have to take a wander through the Bug Jam car park to see what he means. There are so many variations of shape, colour and style that competitions now have to be divided into categories. There's the California look, with lowered suspension, customised paintwork and all the chrome removed; the Restoration look, based around an early Sixties car with period alloy wheels and interior; the Euro look, with powerful engines, Porsche alloy wheels and stiffened suspension.

And then there's Michael Leche's car (pictured right). Michael used to be a perfectly sane computer systems analyst until he was bitten by the Bug in 1991. "I was driving down the motorway and every other car I passed was a Beetle on its way to the Bug Jam. I decided then and there that I had to have one."

Bad decision. Michael spent the next three years of his life and all the money he didn't have creating the ultimate Beetle.

"I spent £12,000 on parts and more than 4,500 hours of my spare time putting it together," says an unrepentant Michael. "I guess that it was a bit mad really but you've got to enjoy something. The difference is that the Beetle is a lifestyle not just a car."

Other fans, such as drag racer Brian Burrows, prefer a more visceral statement. His Beetle, "Outrage", has more power than a Grand Prix car and completes the quarter mile in seven seconds with a terminal speed of 169mph. Yet, amazingly, it uses the same basic four-cylinder, air-cooled boxer engine design as any other Beetle, albeit with a massive turbocharger and a barrel of methanol to help it along.

Ask Brian why he bothers going to such extreme lengths (he claims to have spent more than £300,000 on it) and you get the same explanation as the bloke who has bought his first £300 wreck. "I just love 'em," he says. "It's a bit like Coca-Cola and Levi's. Nothing else comes close. It's the original cult car."

Design critic and author Steven Bayley appears to agree with him on this aspect at least.

"Like all perfect designs, the Beetle is the unique expression of one man's vision," he says. "It combines form and function in perfect harmony."

Only when the issue of customising arises does Steven take a rather different tack. "Customising a Beetle is sacrilege. There is nothing you can add or take away from the design to make it any better." Perhaps that explains why he will not be attending the Bug Jam.

As for the rest of you, maybe I'll see you there.

THIS SEASON'S CAR FESTIVALS UNTIL TOMORROW Bug Jam at the Santa Pod Raceway, Bedfordshire. Tickets for the weekend are £32 on the gate. Call 01234 782828.

July 30 August 1 Coys Historic Festival at Silverstone Circuit, Northants. Tickets from £45 for all three days. Call 01327 857271.

August 21-22 40th birthday celebrations of the Mini at Silverstone, Northants. Tickets £15 in advance for the weekend. Call 01327 857273.

SEPTEMBER 11-12 VW Action at the East of England Showground, Peterborough. Tickets are £20 for the weekend. Call 0973 340579.

SEPTEMBER 18-19 National Kit & Performance Car Show at Donington Park, Derbyshire. Tickets are £2 to kit car drivers and £7 to the rest.

Call 01737 225857.

10 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE BEETLE
A grommet used to prevent chafing of the roof frame in the old Beetle is still used to support the hazard warning triangle in the new one.

The first vehicle Ferdinand Porsche built was an electric-powered Daimler.

Hitler's criteria for the Volkswagen required it to cruise at 62mph, average 40mpg and cost no more than £86.

Originally, it was called the KDF-Wagen, standing for "kraft durch freude" or "strength through joy".

During the war, the Beetle was used as an off-road military vehicle. There was even an amphibious version called a Schwimm-wagen complete with fold-down propeller.

The first person to try to sell the Beetle in the US, a Dutchman named Ben Pon, met with so little enthusiasm that he had to sell his one and only car to pay for his hotel bill.

It took 10 years for VW to build its first 100,000 Beetles but just one more year to top one million.

The last Beetle built in Europe was a cabriolet which rolled off the line at Osnabruck, Germany, on January 10, 1980 The new Beetle was designed by Americans J Mays and Freeman Thomas. It has a dash-mounted vase to evoke the days of flower power - one of the VW's most successful eras.