Man drives family Volkswagen Beetle on final Hailuoto ferry crossing

Antti Helanen fulfilled a promise to his late father by driving his family’s 1962 Volkswagen Beetle on the final crossing of the Hailuoto ferry, Yle reports.

The same car had been on the ferry’s first voyage in 1968, when it traveled from the mainland to Hailuoto. Helanen’s father had bought the Beetle in 1962, and it became part of the family’s history, even ferrying Helanen and his mother home from the hospital after his birth.

The car, now museum-registered, retains its original engine, restored to near-new condition. Helanen said he was pleased by the opening of the new fixed link, ending reliance on ferry schedules that once saw waits of up to seven hours.

“It brings freedom—you can travel whenever you want,” he said.