The Volkswagen Beetle remains one of the world’s most popular and recognizable cars. With development and production beginning before World War II, the “People’s Car,” as the name literally translates, helped to boost and support the German economy and provided inexpensive transportation for anyone earning a reasonable income. The idea was simple: a small, efficient vehicle that would not only be inexpensive to buy, but also to maintain. As such, parts and normal wear items would all be easy to fix, easy to obtain and produced en masse to ensure low prices. The idea wasn’t new, not by a longshot, with luminaries like Henry Ford, Louis Renault and Giovanni Agnelli largely leading the way of high-volume, low-priced vehicles. Early Beetles had a unique split rear window design, which were replaced by an oval rear window, like this one, in 1950. Presented in highly original condition, this 1955 Beetle has only traveled 20,412 miles from new. It’s still wearing its original black paint, original chrome bumpers and trim, and even the red vinyl upholstery and interior are original. Powered by a 1200cc/30 HP flat 4-cylinder engine with a 4-speed manual transmission, it rolls on the original wheels with VW chrome hubcaps and German-made Englebert tires. The semaphore turn signals are a fun feature, while the twin sideview mirrors, twin windshield wipers, bumper guards, piped upholstery, carpeting, white switchgear and steering wheel all illustrate what a well-equipped example this Beetle really is. While pre-1950 Beetles are some of the most sought after VWs on the planet, the 1950s Beetles are likewise of huge interest. Between 1950 and 1959, Volkswagen worked diligently on improving quality, drivability, durability, robustness, performance, comfort and much more, some say almost accidentally building some of the best cars in the world with things like hydraulic brakes, upgraded instrument panels, larger engines and more sophisticated brake/signal light designs. A fabulous example of an historical automobile, it’s even more fabulous as it is in such an original state.
