The Volkswagen Beetle needs no introduction. More than just a ‘people’s car’, the Beetle has become a cultural icon, adored and revered around the world.
Over 21 million Beetles were manufactured between its genesis in Germany in 1938 and the 21,529,464th and final model rolling out of VW’s Puebla factory in Mexico in 2003.
It’s a startling number of cars, bested only in global production terms by its Volkswagen Golf replacement, Ford’s F-Series pick-up trucks and the grand-daddy of them all, the Toyota Corolla.
That lack of scarcity has meant Beetles have remained readily available on the second-hand market. Affordable to buy (although prices are starting to creep up), cheap to own and run, the Beetle has largely been ignored by the classic car set, those who descend on Monterey every August for their annual celebration of automotive exotica.
But that all changed this year when RM Sotheby’s sold a one-off 1969 Volkswagen Beetle at its Monterey Car Week sale for a record price of $US335,000 ($AUD515,000), making it the most expensive Volkswagen Beetle ever.
Of course, it takes a special kind of Beetle to smash the previous record for the model, a record set in 2022 when an original Herbie from the movie Herbie the Love Bug sold for $US212,000 ($AUD326,000).
And this new record-breaking Beetle is indeed something special. Built in 1969, the Volkswagen Beetle Limousine was commissioned by VW’s West Coast (USA) distributor, John van Neumann.
And von Neumann didn't hold back, sparing no expense on his vision of a stretched limo based on a then-new 1969 Beetle. In an era where brand new Lamborghini Miura cost $US20,000, von Neumann commissioned renowned Californian coachbuilders, Troutman-Barnes, to the tune of $US34,499.95 ($AUD53,185). That’s on top of the donor Beetle’s $US2063 ($AUD3180) sticker price when new.
Troutman-Barnes went to work adding just over a metre to the Beetle’s wheelbase, increasing the overall length of the car to a smidge over five metres (5029mm). A regular 1969 Beetle stopped the tape at 4031mm.
To keep the Beetle Limousine looking factory-fresh, Troutman-Barnes sourced, wherever possible, components from Volkswagen, keeping von Neumann’s vision true to the humble Beetle.
According to Sotheby’s, the Beetle did the rounds of the late 1960s So-Cal hot rod scene. That baked enamel black paint was the work of Junior’s House of Colors while renowned hot-rodder Tony Nancy styled the Beetle’s new six-seater interior described as “button-tufted gray English broadcloth at the rear and black vinyl on the other side of the power-operated division window up front”.
Creature comforts and embellishments befitting a limousine ran to plenty of mahogany wood trim, the obligatory minibar complete with a fold-out table, an intercom between the driver and the passengers at rear, separated by a powered glass divider, a five-speaker Phillips audio system with cassette player, power windows, and extra soundproofing for that plush limo-like quietude.
Under the engine cover out back lived a higher-output 1600cc flat-four engine, fed by two 48mm Weber downdraft carburettors. It needed it too, that extra mumbo, the Beetle Limo around 181kg heavier than a regular Beetle.
When finished, the ‘Rollswagen’ as it became affectionately known, made its public debut at the 1970 Los Angeles Auto Show. It was an immediate sensation, prompting even Volkswagen of America to get in on the act, using the bespoke Beetle as part of its advertising campaign.
Headlined “The $35,000 Volkswagen”, the advertisement spruiked the merits of transforming “the world’s best known economy car into the world’s most economical limousine”.
And underscoring its star status, legendary Hollywood actor John Wayne was reportedly ferried to the 1970 Academy Awards in the Beetle, collecting what would be his only Oscar for True Grit. RM Sotheby’s offered the Beetle Limousine without reserve at its August 15-16 auction at Monterey Car Week.
The renowned auction house estimated a sale price of between $US150,000-$200,000 ($AUD$231,000-$308,600). But fierce bidding saw the Beetle climb well past its initial estimate, the hammer falling at $USD335,000 (or a touch over $500k in Aussie dollars) securing von Neumann’s extravagant and slightly madcap vision a place in the record books as the most expensive Volkswagen Beetle ever.
Photos: Karissa Hosek / Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.
