Lot number | 100 |
---|---|
Hammer value | £4,600 |
Description | Volkswagen Beetle Karmann Cabriolet |
Registration | JCJ 366X |
Year | 1971 |
Colour | Orange |
Engine size | 1,500 cc |
Chassis No. | 1512936319 |
Engine No. | 11536319 |
Documents | V5C; MOT September 2016 |
An air-cooled, rear-engined wonder car, the VW Beetle designed by Dr Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930s went on to become the most successful single design car ever made, with over 21 million hitting the streets.
The first production Beetles went on sale in 1945 and were simple, rugged, beautifully made and very reliable. In 1949, Karmann, a German body manufacturing company based in Osnabruck, produced a Cabriolet version, which was to become a major part of their business for the next 31 years.
Presented to the VW board as a fully-costed and comprehensively engineered package in 1948, it wasn’t just a Beetle with the top chopped off. A number of significant changes had been incorporated that stiffened the open bodyshell enormously. Substantial U-section supports were welded to the sills and a transverse beam was fitted under the rear seat, the front side panels becoming double-skinned for extra rigidity. Throw in a proper, fully lined hood, glass rear window and an inch of insulation in the top and the end result was an immediate green light from the Directors.
During its production run, the Karmann-produced Convertible adopted most of the 67,000 improvements that were made to the Beetle over its lifetime, and when Cabriolet sales finally ended in 1980, no fewer than 331,847 examples had been sold.
This LHD Karmann Cabriolet dates from December 1971 and was imported from Germany in May 1982. Originally a German market car, it had had four German owners before being acquired by a British soldier serving with British Forces Germany.
On being posted to Hereford shortly after, he sold it to a local garage-owning family who have kept it ever since. After a good sort out and restoration in the mid-eighties, the Cabriolet has been pressed into service on high days and holidays and is only being offered because the family no longer have suitable storage.
This iconic and supremely practical four-seater classic looks great fun with its bright orange coachwork and thickly padded folding hood. This well-built Karmann Cabriolet is MOT tested until September 2016 and is ready to be enjoyed over the long hot summer we have been promised this year.