An original VW Beetle with remarkably low mileage will go on sale in Denmark, Silverstone Auctions has announced.
The VW Beetle going under the hammer was supplied new by Terragni Volkswagen in Genoa, Italy on the 23rd of January 1974, making it 42 years old. Its one owner has since travelled just 90km in it. That’s just 55 miles, if you want to be all imperial about it.
Owner Armando Sgroi bought the car to drive to church when walking became a problem. He used it until 1978, at which point the left-hand drive Beetle was retired to a barn for the remainder of its life.
‘[Sgroi] had never owned a motorcar before and didn’t really want this one. He was, however, a deeply religious man and walked every Sunday from his house in the hills to his local church. This was only a short distance but it had become a struggle as he became more and more frail,’ the auction description explained.
The bug-eyed classic is finished in a light blue and has black leather interior, manual gearbox and even the original tyres and oil it was delivered with. It comes with the original books, invoice and tool kit.
Silverstone Auctions has estimated the 1974 VW Beetle will fetch somewhere between €35,000 and €40,000 when it goes up for auction at the Classic Race Aarhus Auction in Denmark on the 28th and 29th of May, 2016.
Managing director at Silverstone Auctions, Nick Whale, said: “The VW Beetle is one of the most successful and loved cars worldwide, and we’re no strangers to them at Silverstone Auctions, but this one is a very special example and something we rarely see. With such an incredibly low mileage it is in virtually new condition, 42 years after it was first bought.”
The VW Beetle was designed to offer affordable motoring to the masses and more than 15 million sales ensured it fulfilled its purpose and then some. But it was an appearance in the Disney movie The Love Bug as Herbie that cemented its fame as a car adored the world over.
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