Ein Käfer gibt Vollgas (1972)

Jimmy Bondi and his wonder beetle Dudu are traveling by sea toward Portugal. In the Algarve, they witness a confrontation between the ex-convict Plato and the attractive Tamara on one side, and Marchese de la Sotta and his henchmen on the other. Plato has a letter that is supposed to lead him to printing plates for counterfeit money, which had been in the possession of his friend Schibulski, Tamara’s brother. When Jimmy Bondi and Dudu come to the aid of their new acquaintances, the letter is accidentally left inside the beetle. Jimmy Bondi directs Plato and Tamara to Lisbon, where he and his friends Magnolia and Cyrill run General Service, a company that takes on jobs of all kinds. Meanwhile, the Marchese has his men search for Dudu so he can get hold of the letter. Tamara realizes that Plato is not her brother’s former friend, but a police officer: the real Plato once broke his wrist and probably would not have been able to use his fists so forcefully against the Marchese and his men. In Lisbon, Plato and Tamara meet the company’s boss, Magnolia, who immediately asks eagerly how Jimmy is doing. A short while later, Jimmy and Dudu arrive too, and are harassed by two gangsters hired by de la Sotta, but manage to defend themselves. Plato and Tamara are also kidnapped by the Marchese at his estate, but they escape. Plato, however, wants to hand the letter over only to Jimmy Bondi. The letter indicates that the second printing plate is probably hidden in the bungalow. Plato reveals that he works for the “FBSCN,” the “Federal Bureau of Security for Coins and Notes.” He needs Jimmy’s help to catch the Marchese in the act when the printing plates are handed over. On the bungalow’s veranda, the Marchese has his men search for the printing plate. Jimmy Bondi tries in vain to buy time until Plato’s colleagues arrive and can arrest the Marchese, disguising himself as an old man and pretending that he wants to play chess with Schibulski. In a final confrontation on the beach, where the Marchese plans to escape on his hovercraft, Plato is surrounded by the Marchese and his men; once again, Jimmy and Dudu come to his aid. Since Plato’s superior needs the printing plates as evidence, Plato pursues the fleeing Marchese on his hovercraft. Plato cannot find any printing plates on the Marchese, because he had already handed them over to his lawyer, Silva. Plato leaves the Marchese drifting in his hovercraft until it runs out of fuel. Jimmy, who has swum after them with Dudu, and Plato are about to set off into the distance with Dudu, but Magnolia—whom Jimmy had once promised to marry—calls them back to shore using the remote-control belt, which Jimmy had forgotten on land in his haste.