Delivery-mileage Volkswagen Beetle heads for auction
A genuine barn-find 1974 Volkswagen Beetle that has covered just 56 miles from new is to be offered by Silverstone Auctions in Denmark next weekend.
The one-owner Beetle 1300 is included in the auction house’s Classic Race Aarhus Auction on Saturday, 28 May. The car is in amazing condition, and still has its first set of Firestone tyres. It also has the original engine oil. Its estimate is €35,000-40,000 (£27,500-31,500).
G Terragni Volkswagen, Genoa, Italy, supplied the car in January 1974 to an elderly Italian gentleman, Armando Sgroi. Mr Sgroi purchased the Beetle, his first car, purely for his Sunday trip to and from church as he was becoming too frail to walk as he had previously done.
By the time Armando made his final church trip in the Beetle in 1978, it had covered just 89.9km (56 miles). The car was then stored in a barn where it remained undisturbed for 42 years.
Included with the pale blue Beetle are its invoice, original publications and tool kit. The car has been lightly recommissioned and has been given a good coating of rust-proofing treatment.
‘Unique is a word nearly always incorrectly used,’ says a spokesman for the auction house. ‘But in the case of this 1974 Beetle, we think not. This is a timewarp example of probably the most famous car in the world. It’s hard to believe but it’s true.’
www.silverstoneauctions.com