Ask any car enthusiast which are the most iconic cars ever manufactured, and the name Volkswagen Beetle will most likely be on that list (in addition to Mini Cooper, Ford Model T and Porsche 911).
The Beetle was born in 1934, when Ferdinand Porsche worked on Adolf Hitler’s idea of making a German people’s car to run on its newly-constructed road network.
The first prototype was completed in 1936.
Its design was simple and yet a novelty—it was, after all, inspired by a bug, which has perfected its shape over millions of years of evolution. And yet, the Beetle’s journey lasted all of eight decades.
Eight decades, however, is a long time in automotive history (which is just over a century old). On July 10, 2019, when the last Beetle got rolled off the line at Volkswagen’s assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico, it has already set the record of the longest-running car in automotive history.
While millions of Beetles can be seen running across the world, in India it is a rarity. A vintage Beetle manufactured in 1960 (which has the almost-original design as Porsche made) is rarer. On Sunday, December 19, one such Beetle is getting auctioned on Big Boy Toyz, the pre-owned luxury car firm. The bidding will start from Rs 1; the Beetle will be offered without reserve and will be sold at the final bid price. The auction result will be announced on January 8, 2022.
Alongside the Beetle, many other vintage cars are also being auctioned.
This particular model, BBT shared with FE, was imported by an enthusiast in the early 1960s and has remained in India since then. Recently, it was purchased by BBT from a well-known Delhi collector.
