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21.5 million Volkswagen Beetles were built across its long production history, and yet, the very desirable and popular convertible version only accounted for 331,847 of that number. That’s still a big number, so to break it down, this 1965 Beetle Convertible - being auctioned by Turners Christchurch - was one of just 10754 built that year. Total Beetle production that year was around 1.6 million. So they are rare by Beetle standards. Why was that? Read on...
The main reason for the Beetle convertible’s relative rarity is that it wasn’t built by Volkswagen. It was out-sourced to German company Karmann. Now, unlike many home built Beetle convertibles which simply had the roof chopped off, the Karmann vert had to be properly strengthened so it wouldn’t fold in half. So whilst it looks pretty much like a regular Beetle with the roof cut off, it actually only shares around 50% of the regular Beetle’s body panels. The doors and rear quarter panels, for example, are taller that on the regular cars. And, of course, whilst everyone wanted a soft top, the hardtop was more practical for most people, therefore the market for the drop-top was more exclusive.
Fun fact: The Beetle name only became official in 1968. Up until then it was known by VW simply as the Type 1.
This car started life in America in 1965 before finding its way to NZ in 2013. It shows 95,000 miles on the odo and appears to be in fantastic condition. Karmann convertibles across all Beetle generations are highly desirable, but the 60s cars are surely the prettiest.
This beautiful Beetle is being auctioned online right now. More details here.
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