Stored for 54 years, this 'brand new' Volkswagen Beetle might just be the most perfect example in the world.
The Volkswagen Beetle is one of the world’s most iconic cars with its characterful shape and pop culture status. This car of the German people was originally designed to be a cheap means of getting the country moving.
Volkswagen Beetles are steadily becoming a collectors. In 1964, Rudy Zvarich bought the Beetle brand new as a ‘spare’ as he did not like the new features on the 1965 model that was about to be launched. His idea was to keep the car until his currently daily driver a 1957 model finally cried enough. The brand-new car was put into storage, waiting for its chance to hit the open road for the first time — but that time never came. Rudy Zvarich’s old 1957 Beetle kept going and the new car was forgotten about.
Rudy had a passion for using is other cars and could be seen attending many motoring shows in them. At the age of 87 in 2014 Rudy passed away. Mr Zvarich’s nephew inherited the stored Beetle, but even he was shocked to find that it had only covered 22-miles from new. Everything on the car is said to be entirely original and in perfect condition, as it had never been driven in any meaningful way, left outside, or seat sat in.
The time capsule Beetle was carefully brought up to running condition with careful attention not to disturb the originality of the car. The windscreen wipers and hubcaps had never been attached to the car and were still in their original boxes from the dealership. The black paint was a little bit dusty but as the car had never been washed before, the Leatherette interior looked like the day the car came off the assembly line. The original battery has never been activated and is still with the car as when Rudy went to collect the car he brought his own spare battery to connect and drive the car home with,
This essentially new Volkswagen Beetle should be celebrated, but how do you put a value to such a special one of a kind vehicle taking into consideration that over Nine Hundred thousand were built in 1964?
