A Volkswagen Beetle with only 23 miles (37 km) on the counter is for sale in the United States. The asking price is a factor 569 higher than the original new price.
The Volkswagen Beetle is perhaps the most recognizable car ever produced, even now that Volkswagen finally made the decision to completely delete the model (including the retro version). After all, the car manufacturer has made 21 million copies of the iconic passenger car, of which 948,370 copies in 1964 alone. Surprisingly enough, one of those Beetles is now going on sale, only the new owner want a lot of money.
The story began when the American Rudy Zvarich was 37 years old and owned a 1957 Beetle. When Volkswagen decided to radically renew the Beetle for model year 1965, he could not imagine that he would ever buy the new design and decided to buy a spare car. Zvarich bought one of the last remaining 1964 models and then counted $ 1,756.90 (1,523 euro) down for the brand new Beetle.
Rudy bought the car (bringing along his own battery as to not activate the original dry charge system) and drove the car to his friend’s storage space in the dark night with no insurance. He never licensed the car, and after two years in his friend’s storage space, he finished his own building and moved the car there. It sat undisturbed from 1966 to 2016, having covered only 22 miles. Over the years Rudy’s interests and car collection grew. There was never a reason for him to need the Beetle, so it just slept in the back corner of his collection with all the fluids dropped out and a sheet over it to keep the dust off.
Although his ’64 Beetle never saw sunlight Rudy had a passion for using his other cars and participated in many car shows. He loved to point out details on how and why engineering choices were made, you could not help but find yourself a little smarter after a conversation with Rudy. In 2014 at the age of 87 Rudy passed away and his nephew inherited his car collection. The time capsule 1964 Beetle was removed from its resting place and carefully brought up to running condition with careful attention to not disturb the originality of the car. The windshield wipers and hubcaps have never been attached to the car and are still in their original boxes from the dealership. Its black paint is a little dusty, because it has never been washed – ever! The “Leatherette Red” interior looks like it was just installed on the assembly line. The dealer window sticker is still where it was placed in 1964.
There are some amazing original Volkswagen Beetles on display around the world in honor of their creator Ferdinand Porsche. The Porsche museum (Stuttgart), Volkswagen museum (Wolfsburg), and famous Prototype museum (Hamburg) each have impressive collections, but out of the 948,370 Beetles made in 1964 could this be the most original one left on the planet? These cars were inexpensive back in the day and they got used. We may never see another one like it. Rudy’s Beetle is truly a snapshot in time. The car is now for sale here
Source: HLN