Volkswagen Beetle Ragtop, 1963
Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle•
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Chassis No.: 5583843
Auction: Fran and Ron Green's Verde Classics Museum Collection 2013
Auction date: February 23, 2013
Lot No.: S67
$25,300 | Sold
- Body: Ragtop
- Sliding canvas ragtog
- Chrome bumpers
- Chrome hubcaps and trim rings
- Air cooled four cylinder engine
- 4-speed manual
- Luggage rack
- Contrasting fender welting
- Many chrome appointments
In 1920s Europe the concept of a mass-produced car with a rear-mounted air cooled engine was advanced by Edmund Rumpler of Tropfenwagen fame, Hans Ledwinka of Tatra in Czechoslovakia, Motor-Kritik magazine editor Joseph Ganz and, of course, Ferdinand Porsche.
The ensuing Great Depression and World War II played the same havoc on those plans as they did on everything else in the world, but not before Porsche's basic design was adopted by the German Labor Front’s Volkswagen project, which had the backing of Hitler, who allegedly was the first person to refer to the car as a “beetle.” The car and its Wolfsburg factory survived the war and its aftermath to become integral to the reindustrialization of Germany, and by the late 1950s the Volkswagen Beetle had begun its entrée into American car culture. By the time the Beetle ragtop offered here was produced in 1963, the car was a worldwide phenomenon.
Driven by the famous air-cooled flat-4 engine with a 4-speed transaxle, this charming little Black-on-Red Beetle is fully dressed in all the goodies that could be had at the time: a sliding canvas top, removable luggage rack, wide whitewall tires, wheel trim rings and hubcaps, headlight shades, bumper extensions, door handle nail guards, contrasting fender welting – and as much chrome and stainless trim as could be found. The best part: it’s every bit as much fun to enjoy as it was 50 years ago.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/146950/1963-volkswagen-beetle-ragtop/
