Million-dollar VW Beetle barn find for sale

IT MUST be the most original Volkswagen Beetle on the planet. It sure would want to be, if the seller is serious about the AU$1.4 million asking price for this completely original 1964 Volkswagen Beetle.

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Offered for sale in Portland Oregon, VIN 6437532 is a black manual Volkswagen Beetle that has probably seen about an hour of sunlight in its 54-year existence. The car’s odometer clicked over from 22 miles to 23 whilst being rolled out of storage following the original owner’s death.

The ‘64s all original condition is the legacy of Beetle enthusiast Rudy Zvarich, a collector from Oregon who preserved this pristine example for its entire life.

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Zvarich was driving a 1957 Beetle when he decided he didn’t like the changes Volkswagen intended to make to the 1965 model, namely the move away from the flat windscreen and the differing front-end geometry. So in order to preserve his ’57 car, he purchased one of the last ’64 cars, drove it home and garaged it under a cover with the intention to use it for parts.

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Such was the reliability of his first Beetle, the back-up Beetle was never used or even registered. There was no reason to touch it, so it lay dormant in the back corner of his garage with all fluids drained and sheet covering it to keep dust away.

Once Rudy died, his collection was left to his nephew who restored the Beetle back to running condition, careful not to disturb the originality of the example. All accessories and documents are still in their original packaging, and even things like windscreen wipers and hubcaps have never been fitted to the car.

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Such time capsule classics of any make and model don’t come around often, so putting a price on this one is uncharted territory. That said, it’s hard to imagine paying the AU$1.4 million ask for a Beetle, but nothing ventured, nothing gained…

Is this little slice of history worth its astronomical price tag? Let us know your thoughts below.