Marketing Manager - Bridge Classic Cars
A 1979 VW Beetle Karmann Cabriolet recently sold at an auction in Lemington Spa, hosted by Classic Car Auctions for an incredible £49,500.
Initial estimates indicated a sale price of £10,000 – £12,000, however, the Brazil Brown Beetle sparked a bidding war before selling at almost five times this estimate.
The reason for such a competitive bidding war is the fact that, despite being more than four decades old, the classic Beetle has just two miles on the clock! Found tucked away in a garage covered in a protective sheet, the original buyer is believed to have been a car dealer from the Midlands who bought the car and then stored it away safely. Following his death, the car was unearthed from its lifelong home.
Thanks to its lack of use and its life in storage, the convertible Beetle is in almost as-new condition, adding to the appropriateness of its nearly £50,000 price tag.
Simon Langsdale, who sourced the car for CCA, said: “This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime find. The car has literally been in storage all its life and has an incredible two miles on the odometer, which we are told is correct. It has quite evidently been cosseted, as it was covered in blankets in a sealed environment and has just recently been uncovered due to a bereavement. It is in effect a ‘new’ 1979 Karman Beetle, surely an unrepeatable opportunity. Supplied with its original handbook and service booklet, clearly with no stamps!”
Details From Classic Car Auctions
- Once in a lifetime find in Brazil Brown with an Oatmeal interior, matching roof and tonneau cover
- UK-supplied new by JEM Volkswagen of Walsall as one of the last RHD Karmann Convertibles
- In storage all its life, it has an incredible two miles on the odometer which we are told is correct
- Supplied with its original handbook and service booklet, clearly with no stamps!
- The car has been cossetted and covered in blankets in a sealed environment and has just recently been uncovered due to a bereavement
- An ‘as new’ 1979 VW Beetle
