A Volkswagen Beetle is given its name by an enlightened mechanic named Tennessee Steinmetz (Buddy Hackett) in Disney's 1968 movie 'The Love Bug'. His uncle Herb who was a middleweight boxer had a broken nose which he said resembled the front of the car.

Herbie is based on a L87 Pearl White 1963 Model 117 Volkswagen Type 1 Deluxe Sunroof with yellow-on-black California license plates OFP 857. Several Beetles were used in 'The Love Bug' filming with at least one built by Empi. For the race sequences Herbie was fitted with a Porsche 356 Super 90 engine (1600cc twin Solex), Porsche finned drum brakes, Koni shocks and Empi rear camber compensator. Racing speed was reportedly 115mph/185km/h. Race number 53 was supposedly chosen because it was Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale's uniform number (as commented by a member of the original film's production staff.)

Herbie in movies and TV: 'The Love Bug' (December, 1968 - limited US release; March, 1969 - full release), 'Herbie Rides Again' (1974), 'Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo' (1977), 'Herbie Goes Bananas' (1980), 'Herbie The Love Bug' (TV, five episodes - 1982), 'New Herbie The Love Bug' (TV, part of 'The Wonderful World Of Disney' - 1997), 'Herbie: Fully Loaded' (2005)