‘Magic bus’ that survived Palisades Fire returns fully restored to LA Auto Show
Nearly a year after a striking photo captured it miraculously standing amid the ashes of the Palisades Fire, a bright blue 1977 Volkswagen Transporter — known to its owners as Azul — has been restored and returned home. The van, which became a viral symbol of survival, will make its first public appearance Thursday at the LA Auto Show.
The story began in January, when an Associated Press photographer documenting wildfire destruction near the Getty Villa spotted something extraordinary: a single, sky-blue VW bus standing untouched while the neighborhood around it lay in ruins.
The photo of Azul against a backdrop of collapsed homes and blackened earth rocketed across social media, quickly becoming an emblem of hope during one of Southern California’s darkest weeks.
Volkswagen noticed. After locating the owner, Megan Weinraub, and learning she didn’t have the means to restore the van, the company offered to take on the project itself.
A painstaking restoration
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The Volkswagen bus, named Azul by its owner, sits with some damage in front of burned out homes, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
The Volkswagen bus, named Azul by its owner, sits with some damage in front of burned out homes, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
The Volkswagen bus, named Azul by its owner, sits with some damage in front of burned out homes, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
The Volkswagen bus, named Azul by its owner, sits with some damage in front of burned out homes, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
The Volkswagen bus, named Azul by its owner, sits with some damage in front of burned out homes, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Inside Volkswagen’s engineering center in Oxnard, technicians spent months disassembling and rebuilding the bus, according to KABC. Though photos made it look untouched from one side, the passenger side had melted plastic, blistered paint, cracked glass and lingering soot inside the cabin.
By late fall, Azul was fully restored — paint gleaming, engine running smoothly, interior rebuilt from the frame up.
Now on display and back on the road
Azul will be showcased at the LA Auto Show beginning Nov. 20, where visitors can see both the van’s dramatic before-and-after and meet the team that helped bring it back to life.
After the show, the bus will return to its owners — ready once again to cruise the California coast.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
