The Greatest Survivor: A $390K '64 VW Beetle – 23 Miles, 50 Years Stored, Never Registered

The man’s name was Rudy Zvarich, and his car – in 1964 – was also a VW Beetle (the 1957 version). Having heard about the German company’s design upgrades, he immediately set about to buy a new 1964 model variant. It wasn’t the easiest of tasks, despite the overwhelming popularity of the famous two-door automobile. Still, on July 13, he found the perfect car, one of over a million produced for that year.

The invoice reads $1.756,90, a decent amount for a car in the early '60s. Granted, it wasn’t much car for the money, nor did it come with a long list of options. In full disclosure, it didn’t come with an options list at all, long or short. The photo gallery reveals this humble Volkswagen had just two customer-ordered features: a full set of whitewall tires and the red leatherette interior.

The two extras amounted to the more than acceptable price of 65 dollars. Again, a reasonable value, so there’s only one question that needs an answer in this article: what’s so special about a one-in-more-than-21-million VW Beetles?

Well, the car was put for sale some four and a half years ago for the inflation-adjusted price of one million (yes, American dollars). Obviously, nobody bought it, despite the new condition of the vehicle. And, when I say “new,” I mean precisely that. Twenty-two miles on the odometer, never registered, never washed (until 2018, at least).

Even the buyer-installable parts are still in their original shipment boxes (mirrors, hubcaps, windshield wipers, and whatnot). The car is still for sale for the much more "modest" price of $290,000. Despite the massive “71% off” Black Friday-style price drop, the tiny black rear-engined motor car would still become the world’s most expensive Volkswagen Beetle.

If someone were to offer that amount, that is. Even though the automobile has been preserved with great care – fluids drained, draped with a cloak, and surrounded by multiple layers of “hoard-proofing.” If the term is meaningless, imagine “dump truck loads” of half-a-century’s-worth of collected stuff hastily piled around the car in the garage.

The automobile was purchased as a replacement for the buyer’s 1957 Beetle mentioned at the beginning of this story. However, that incident never occurred – primarily due to the mechanically-inclined owner, who made sure to always have his car in running order. As a direct result, the ’64’s only road experience was illegal.

Rudy Zvarich bought his car in July 1964, but his home garage wasn’t big enough to fit one more vehicle. He asked a friend to offer him temporary shelter for the Beetle and drove from the dealership to the friend’s place.

Without a license, registration, insurance, or any other public road use permit, the trip was performed on broad night dark. It turns out that “temporary” meant about two years. In 1966, when Mr. Zvarich built a garage of his own, the car was driven there (hence the 22 miles – 35 km – on its odometer. Currently, the clock shows 23 miles/37 km, having clicked one more while the Beetle was dragged out of its five-decade-long slumber).

Fully aware that he won’t need it for a foreseeable time, the owner drained the fluids, raised the car on blocks, and covered it. Some years later, his nephews were playing in the garage, and one of them accidentally scratched the car’s fender. Angered but warned by the incident, Mr. Zvarich turned to a rather unconventional protective measure: indiscriminate hoarding.

Until 2014, when the original buyer passed away, the vehicle was enveloped in a massive volume of useless junk. The car passed on to one of the nephews from the “fender scratch case,” and the new owner’s family decided it would be best to sell the car.

After a thorough investigation, including a trip to Germany to the VW factory museum, the car’s price was set to $1 million. Apparently, there isn’t a regular-customer, lower-mileage VW from that year – or any other year – anywhere on Planet Piston. (Museum exhibits and other not-for-road-use builds are not taken into consideration).

Since the deterring price was never met, the car’s sole experience – sales-wise – remains the July 13, 1964 moment. Still, the new owners have hopes that someone will meet their demand and spill a duffel bag full of $290,000 under the car’s hood. Which is the actual luggage space, as the trunk is dedicated to the VW Beetle’s 1.2-liter engine.

Not that it would matter for the car’s sale, but this 1964 automobile is powered by the (need I underline?) original 40 hp (40 PS), 64 lb-ft (87 Nm) four-cylinder boxer. The 1.600 lb (726 kg) of the aerodynamics-braving icon of the Piston Age made a 32-mpg highway score (8.8 liters/100 km) possible.

Bear in mind the year was 1964, a moment when gearheaded America was introduced to one of the most impressive pairs of animal-totem-bearing automobiles in the entirety of its crankshaft-spinning history: the Mustang and the Barracuda. At 30 cents per gallon, fuel efficiency wasn’t a concern for anyone in the U.S.

Well, almost anyone, as one man from Oregon decided that the 1.2-liter VW Beetle from 1964 was the most incredible set of self-propelled machine money could buy and bought one for history.