Silverstone Auctions will be offering possibly the world’s best Beetle for auction at its Silverstone Classic Sale on Saturday 27th July.
The show-stopping 1962 Volkswagen Beetle 1200 De Luxe, estimated at between £30,000 to £35,000, is the very best of breed having had £55,000 lavished on it in a meticulous restoration project that’s only just been completed.
Nick Whale, managing director, Silverstone Auctions, said: “It would be hard to find a better example anywhere in the world. As classic Beetle’s go, you simply don’t get any better than this, the restored 1962 model.”
In 2012, the car won the acclaimed Meguiar’s NEC Classic Motorshow concours where it easily beat a restored Ferrari 250 SWB. As the concours winner the car has been invited to take the prestigious display spot in the main entrance of the NEC at this year’s show. The car also took top honours at the Sandown Volksworld Show last year, being the highest scored car in the show’s history since 1992.
Sporting a ‘Resto-Cal’ look, this truly astonishing car was rescued from disrepair in 2009 by the current vendor and the decision was taken that a no limit or boundaries restoration was in order.
The chassis was the first area to be restored, being stripped down to every last nut and bolt before being rebuilt with a fabricated air suspension beam with air bag mounts, which allows the car to be lowered for the true ‘Resto-Cal’ look.
Attention was next turned to the bodywork and it was decided that it would become a 63’-based version of a 57’ Fendered car. In total, nine weeks of hard toil was spent on the body and paintwork, excluding the prep and smaller touch-up jobs, and the result is the gorgeous Ruby Red finish seen today.
The same attention to detail was also spent on the engine and in true vintage VW hotrod style the 1192cc engine was increased to 1384cc. On the inside, Derby Grey cloth was sourced from Germany and fitted along with an Oatmeal-coloured wool.
“There’s been so much work spent on this car that it’s impossible to mention all of it. It would be fair to say that this is possible the finest ‘best of breed’ car that we’ve had the privilege to auction,” added Nick.
