From an appearance standpoint, the German Look is monotone using modern paints. Quite often, they from high-end motorcars like Porsche. Blacks, deep blues, British racing greens and especially silvers fit the bill. It is not unusual to find a pearlized paint scheme. Bright yellows, oranges and greens have been known to make their way into the mix quite effectively.
(My car being stock yellow -- and one favoring the pastel side of things -- is atypical for the German Look. And since German Look is also about dechroming, my car is a slight departure there, too. I still consider it a German Looker because its heart is in that classification. Maybe Retro German Look or Pseudo German Look better suits my car but, then again, I'm just making those terms up.)
The key is the monochromatic paint scheme. The only exception is if the car has racing markings like the Käfer Cup race cars from where the look got its inspiration.
The French Look on the other hand places its visual emphasis on a fancy paint scheme. That means bright colors are more often selected as a base, and a wild pattern is attached to it. Many times, the wild pattern is asymmetrical -- at least it is from front to rear. The left and right sides of the car may be the same, however. Typically, the engine bay is all fancied out to match.
The French Look may be lowered with modern wheels but often the drivetrain is left stock. (I believe the drivetrain
has to be left stock in France.)
Because the French Look is different than the German Look, many modern looks that embrace open road and track racing as its theme (i.e. handling as a central focal point), they often get lumped together as being a European Look which becomes a catch-all.
Yours is definitely not a French Look by tradition either.
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The GSR (Yellow and Black Racer in German) is a special edition Super Beetle that Volkswagen made available in Germany that parallels the Sports Bug special edition in the United States during the 1973 model year. Both cars are based in Saturn Yellow. (The Sports Bug was also available in fewer quantities in Marathon Blue Metallic.)
The GSR had a black lids, front and back, and blacked-out trim such as bumpers and headlight rims. Here is a picture from the special editions site:
