Kipp Farrin didn't expect to have his pride and joy shared with the world.

The Boothbay native and car guy said having his 1995 Volkswagen Golf Sport featured in European Car's September 2014 issue is a culmination of sorts.

He was approached by longtime friend and fellow car guy Thatcher Shultz about an article for both European Car magazine and Eurotuner (which are owned by the same company).

A year later, after Shultz's article and multiple photos from Randy Williams, the 1995 Volkswagen Golf Sport and its owner are a bit more well-known.

The article is a nice way to cap Farrin's first and favorite car project.

He bought the car when he was 16 because of a love of Volkswagens. Now 29, Farrin said he's learned a great deal about wrenching and hard work.

“I got it when I was 16, and it was bone-stock,” he said. “I just started doing different things to it and I tried to do most of it myself.”

Now that his car has been immortalized in print, Farrin said not much will change. It won't be locked away to preserve its factory-perfect paint job; it won't be garaged to keep miles off the clock.

Instead, it will be driven, like it was meant to, Farrin said.

“The best part of the car is taking it out, driving it around, having people smile when they see it,” he said. “Plus, it's a lot of fun to drive.”

What's gone into the car is more than the thumping heart from an Audi TT, custom bumpers, wheels, tires, suspension, mirrors and interior: it's been late nights in the shop. It's filled with help from fellow Volkswagen enthusiasts and years of tinkering, tweaking and perfecting.

“To me, it's a big achievement to have my car in a magazine,” he said. “I've always thought 'Oh, I need to do this, or need to do that' to get it ready. But to me, I'm not going to enjoy (a car) unless I can drive it.”

One of the photos featured in the magazine shows Farrin lighting up the wheels amid an acrid cloud of tire smoke, which speaks to how he feels about the car: Pretty as it may be, it's still a car, not a painting.

“(In the article) I wanted it to be known that I don't really baby my car,” he said. “When I take it to a show, I drive it there. I know a lot of people would put it on a trailer, but I want to be able to drive it and enjoy it.”

Now that one project is finished, Farrin has turned his eyes to other projects: a 1983 VW GTI, a 1964 VW Bug, and a VW Caddy.