All-Original 1966 VW Beetle Stored Since 1989 Wants a New Shot at Life for Just $35K

Produced in over 21 million examples over 65 years (in the same general architecture!), the minuscule German automobile is probably the most classical of all classics. And, unlike other collectible unicorns, this emblem of personal transportation is not priced at Fort Knox-worthy figures.

Take this 1965-built survivor, offered for sale by RK Motors at $34,900. And it's stellar, with everything on the car – except the tires – exactly like it came out the factory gates in September 1965. Yes, an all-original VW Beetle that had a great life – thanks to its two-owner attention and care.

Kept in mint condition for over five decades years, under the loving nursing of its original buyer's family, the car has been in dry storage since 1989. On jack stands, mind you, and the second owner, who purchased the Beetle in 2017, stored it in his collection without altering the survivor.

The car was ordered at a Volkswagen dealership in Medina, Ohio, in the summer of '65. A little while later, the buyers flew to get delivery of their automobile. The couple jumped on an airplane to Germany, went to the Wolfsburg factory, and took their brand-new Volkswagen on a European tour.

What a ride that must have been, enjoying the sunroof, pop-out windows, and occasionally glazing in the driver's side mirror to check the traffic behind. For the next two decades, this beautiful black-and-red Beetle was a hobby car for its owners. It enjoyed the bright side of automotive life – always garage-parked and all.

A true-blue gearhead knows how much work, time, money, and energy are needed to maintain a collectible automobile. So one can imagine the amount of care this Beetle received. With an overdose of pampering, it's no wonder the tiny VW is a genuine factory car.

The dynamic duo of a 1.3-liter four-cylinder boxer engine (air-cooled and rear-mounted behind the axle) and the four-speed manual first saw road action in Europe 57 years ago. Red Pigalle leatherette adorns the inside of the small VW.

The "originals" list continues with the Blaupunkt radio, seatbelts, lacquer paint, and 15-inch steel wheels. The tires have been replaced (96,081 miles – or nearly 155,000 kilometers – require new rubbers, I believe you would agree with the car's owners and me on this matter).

Also, many documents attesting to the vehicle's authenticity are included in the sale – check the gallery to see a few of them. For automotive imparity, we'll drop the engine specs here, too. Not that it would matter in any way, as no one buys an original, A-grade Beetle to blast the dragstrip of smoke seven sets of rubbers a week.

So, the 1.3-liter gasoline flat engine was a new option for the 1966 model year, producing 50 hp (51 PS) at 4,600 RPM and 69 lb-ft of torque (94 Nm) at 2,600 RPM. For a 1,665-lbs car (755 kg), it meant a solid 82 mph top speed (132 kph).

Since we are autoevolution, we need to point out the acceleration, too – just for statistics' sake: 22 seconds from 0 to 60 mph (0-97 kph). And from 0 to 50 (0-80 kph), it took almost 15 seconds.

This Beetle cost 1,439 dollars and 20 cents (the order form in the gallery testifies for this), which would be around $13,225 in today's coinage. Hence, the asking price is not too far off the scale, as it happens with other great condition survivors – such as this '67 Corvette.