Theory has it that the supply of and demand for a product determine its ultimate value on the auction block, and when you consider that a record 21,529,464 Volkswagen Beetles were sold globally between 1938 and 2003, it is remarkable that the ultimate people's car still has any value at all at auction. Prices however, are defying all the rules and the world's most produced car model is now fetching record prices and looks set to become a gold plated investment as a collector car.
Incredibly clever design and mass manufacturing efficiencies propelled the Beetle to surpass the Ford Model T world record for production of a single automobile and fulfill all of its design objectives despite being masterminded by one of the great villains of the century of the automobile.
Toyota now holds the record for a single nameplate for its compact class Corolla, though the relationship between the first 1966 Corolla and its namesake of today is tenuous beyond the name and size of the cars wearing that name.
The initial Corolla was a massive success because it was reliable and did everything far more competently than its logical competitors. It became the world's best-selling car annually in 1974, and has been the biggest selling nameplate almost every year since. You only get one chance to make a first impression and the Corolla reputation for quality and reliability is now a dozen generations down the track.
The same car which became the most valuable Volkswagen Beetle on the planet in 2015 reaffirmed its position again yesterday fetching US$128,700 at auction, but the car has perhaps had more effect than just being number one.
Since Herbie last sold for $126,000 just three years ago, 39 of the world's 50 most valuable Volkswagen Beetles have sold, despite the auction marketplace losing momentum over the same time frame. The vehicle with the highest appreciation of any collectible car over the last five years is the Volkswagen Kombi/Samba van, and though the Beetle (Bug in the US, Käfer in Germany, Garbus in Poland, Coccinelle in France) has done more to commoditize personal transportation than any other automobile in history, it is now appreciating like crazy on the auction block, too.
The most valuable commonly available Beetle is the Cabriolet
The following list contains the most valuable Volkswagen Beetles that have ever sold at auction, plus a few with extraordinary estimates that didn't make reserve. If you know of any that should be on this list, please let us know in the comments section and we'll amend the list.
The most interesting finding of our research is that Beetle hardtops made up just 26 of the top 50, and nine of those were Herbies, while the Cabriolet made up 24 of the top 50 prices achieved.
Production of the Beetle Cabriolet by Karmann began in 1948 when Wilhelm Karmann GmbH purchased a VW Beetle sedan and converted it into a four-seater convertible. Volume production began in 1949 by Karmann after being successfully presented to Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and approval received.
Without the integrity of the roof for strength, many modifications were added to create body strength, with the sills reinforced with welded U-channel rails and a transverse beam fitted below the front edge of the rear seat cushion. Far more was done to add this strength and the build quality of the Cabriolet by a well-established coachbuilding company such as Karmann was well beyond anything Volkswagen offered at the time, creating a large and growing fan club of the Cabriolet.
Special mention | 1978 Volkswagen Beetle 1200
At the end of European production in 1978, Volkswagen produced a limited batch of 1200cc Beetle 1200L Saloons with Diamond Silver Metallic paint and Marine Blue velour interior. This car is number 167 of that last batch of 300, according to the plaque on the dashboard, and has covered just 63 miles from new. It spent several years in the collection of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, selling for £10,450 at an RM-Sotheby's auction in London in 2007, then again for £13,200 at a Bonhams auction at Hendon RAF Museum (UK) in December, 2015. One day this car will be worth a lot of money.
53 | $37,950 | 1977 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Palm Beach, 2014 | Auction Link
49 | $38,500 | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Los Angeles, 2017 | Auction Link
49 | $38,500 | 1979 Volkswagen 'Epilogue' Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2017 | Auction Link
49 | $38,500 | 1954 Volkswagen Beetle
Bonhams | Scottsdale, 2016 | Auction Link
49 | $38,500 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2018 | Auction Link
An unrestored, near perfect, triple-white Super Beetle with 6,822 original miles with a build date of December 1979, making it one of the last Super Beetles made.
48 | $39,000 | 1977 Volkswagen Beetle 'Champagne' Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Monterey, 2016 | Auction Link
Just 1,000 "Champagne" Editions were produced, with just one unit going to each of America's Volkswagen dealers. This car is as-new, and sold unrestored but near perfect with just 5,220 mileson the clock.
47 | $39,050 | 1979 Volkswagen Super Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2017 | Auction Link
46 | $39,270 | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Palm Beach, 2006 | Auction Link
45 | $39,600 | 1954 Volkswagen Beetle
RM-Sothebys | Amelia Island, March, 2008 | Auction Link
44 | $40,000 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Mecum | Monterey, August, 2015 | Auction Link
43 | $40,150 | 1962 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2007 | Auction Link
42 | $42,350 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Fort Lauderdale, 2017 | Auction Link
41 | $42,507 (€38,250) | 1974 Volkswagen Beetle
Silverstone Auctions | Aarhus, Denmark | May, 2016 | Auction Link
Despite the modest results of the car above, original unmolested Beetles can be expected to appreciate indefinitely, as this example of a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle showed at auction in Denmark in 2016. It has just 90 km on the odometer.
00 | $43,558 (£26,950) | Volkswagen Kubelwagen Type 82
Brightwells | Herefordshire, U.K., September, 2012 | Auction Link
Like the 1944 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen which you will find further down this list, we're not counting this as a Volkswagen Beetle, though it doubtless has a common ancestor. This Kubelwagen sold complete with many Wehrmacht accessories, a striking Afrika Korps colour scheme and an ex-Imperial War Museum (UK) history.
40 | $42,900 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Fort Lauderdale, 2016 | Auction Link
37 | $44,000 | 1978 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2016 | Auction Link
37 | $44,000 | 1956 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Las Vegas, 2016 | Auction Link
37 | $44,000 | 1950 Volkswagen Beetle
Gooding & Co | Amelia Island, 2017 | Auction Link
35 | $45,100 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Auburn Fall, 2015 | Auction Link
35 | $45,100 | 1959 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2007 | Auction Link
34 | $46,750 | 1956 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Palm Beach, 2017 | Auction Link
33 | $47,300 | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, January 2016 | Auction Link
32 | $47,468 (€44,800) | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Milan, November, 2016 | Auction Link
29 | $49,500 | 1966 Volkswagen Beetle Custom Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, January 2015 | Auction Link
29 | $49,500 | 1960 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, January 2016 | Auction Link
29 | $49,500 | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Finest Automobile Auctions (Defunct) | Hershey, June, 2016 | No Auction Link
28 | $50,142 (€42,550) | 2003 VW Beetle "Última Edición"
Dorotheum | Salzburg, October, 2017 | Auction Link
Volkswagen Beetles were produced in Mexico from 1967 until 2003, and the final production run of 3,000 vehicles was known as the "Última Edición." This car was obtained by a German enthusiast fully optioned and mothballed. It proved to be a worthwhile investment.
27 | $50,600 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Bonhams | Scottsdale, January, 2014 | Auction Link
Celebrity provenance helps elevate the price of any car at auction. This car was previously owned by two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson.
26 | $51,700 | 1956 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2006 | Auction Link
25 | $52,800 | 1959 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
NO IMAGE AVAILABLE
Christies, Pebble Beach, August, 2007 | No Link
24 | $52,800 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Bonhams | Amelia Island, 2016 | Auction Link
23 | $54,600 | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Finest Automobile Auctions (Defunct) | Online, April, 2016 | No Auction Link
22 | $55,000 | 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Mecum | Indianapolis, May, 2016 | Auction Link
21 | $55,000 | 1951 Volkswagen Beetle
Gooding & Co | Scottsdale, January, 2018 | Auction Link
20 | $58,300 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Barrett-Jackson | Las Vegas, 2014 | Auction Link
19 | $61,600 | 1957 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, 2018 | Auction Link
Also sold for $55,000 at Mecum in a Las Vegas 2017 Auction
18 | $62,345 (€58,240) | 1952 Volkswagen Beetle
RM-Sothebys | Paris, February, 2017 | Auction Link
17 | $63,800 | 1951 Volkswagen Beetle
Gooding & Co | Amelia Island, March, 2016 | Auction Link
16 | $65,000 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Mecum | Monterey, August, 2017 | Auction Link
15 | $66,000 | 1952 Volkswagen Beetle
RM-Sothebys | Arizona, January, 2016 | Auction Link
14 | $66,000 | 1953 Volkswagen Beetle
RM-Sothebys | Arizona, January, 2013 | Auction Link
13 | $66,000 | 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Gooding & Co | Scottsdale, January, 2012 | Auction Link
12 | $66,000 | 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Gooding & Co | Scottsdale, January, 2015 | Auction Link
11 | $66,125 | 1954 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Madison, Georgia, February, 2013 | Auction Link
10 | $71,500 | 1958 Volkswagen Beetle
Gooding & Co | Pebble Beach, August, 2016 | Auction Link
9 | $72,000 | 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Mecum | Indianapolis, May, 2016 | Auction Link
8 | $72,800 | 1956 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Amelia Island, March, 2018 | Auction Link
7 | $77,000 | 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Mecum | Montery, August 2018 | Auction Link
6 | $82,500 | 1955 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
RM-Sothebys | Amelia Island, March, 2015 | Auction Link
5 | $86,250 | 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Bonhams | New York, November, 2015 | Auction Link
4 | $93,500 | 1964 Volkswagen Beetle
Mecum | Montery, August 2018 | Auction Link
3 | $107,250 | 1961 Volkswagen Beetle
Mecum | Montery, August 2018 | Auction Link
2 | $121,000 | 1960 Volkswagen Beetle
Gooding & Co | Amelia Island, March, 2016 | Auction Link
As previously mentioned, celebrity provenance always attracts a premium at auction, and almost everybody didn't see this 1960 Volkswagen Beetle coming, including one of the world's most astute Tier One auction houses which estimated it would sell for $35,000 to $55,000. The disguising factor was that is went to auction among a gaggle of delectable Porches from the collection of comedian Jerry Seinfeld. It seems that the lower the base value of a car, the higher the multiplication factor associated with celebrity ownership.
1 | $128,700 | 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Barrett-Jackson | Palm Beach, April 2018 | Full story and links
Only three times in history has a Volkswagen Beetle sold for more than US$100,000 and this car has done it twice. It is also entrenched in our list of the most valuable movie and TV cars. A humble and lovable peoples' car at the top of it's game.
00 | $230,724 (€149,500) | 1944 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen
Bonhams | Monaco, May, 2008 | Auction Link
A very close relation to the Beetle, but we're not counting in this list because it isn't close enough. Indeed, Porsche's Type 60 could be considered the common ancestor of the Volkswagen Beetle, and both the WW2 German army's Kübelwagen and this amphibious 4WD Schwimmwagen. Schwimmwagens are rare because so very few survived the war, with other recent auction results including $138,712 (KR840,000) by RM-Sothebys in Denmark, and $141,743 (€110,000) by Pierre Bergé & Associés in Brussels in 2013.
No Sale | 1949 Volkswagen Hebmüller Type 14A Cabriolet
Mecum | Monterey, 2016 | Auction Link
The two-door Hebmüller Cabriolet was built from June 1949 to February, 1953 by the coachbuilding company Karosseriewerke Joseph Hebmüller Söhne and only 696 of these cars were produced. This 1949 Volkswagen Hebmüller Type 14A Beetle Cabriolet received a bid of $250,000 during Mecum's Monterey auction in August,2016, but failed to sell because the bid was below the reserve price of $300,000.
No Sale | 1943 KDF Type 60 Beetle
Finest Automobile Auctions (Defunct) | Hershey, June, 2016 | No auction link
This 1943 KDF Type 60 Beetle is the earliest to ever reach auction. With an official estimate of $275,000 to $350,000, it failed to meet reserve during The Finest's Elegance at Hershey auction in 2016. The reserve price is believed to have been $275,000.