For Sale: 1948 Swiss Split Beetle

This is a nearly perfect and very original 10/48 deluxe Beetle that’s up for sale on TheSamba.com. The car was one of the first officially exported Beetles to Switzerland (AMAG) in 10/48. It was in regular use no longer than approx. the late ’60s. In the mid ’70s the car was restored by a founder of the Swiss Split Window club. At this time the Beetle had only done 31000 km! So it is no wonder the car was very complete and had nearly no rust. There is no new metal welded in! Nearly all the parts were still in place. The engine, gearbox, front axle all have matching numbers. Since completion of the restoration in 76/77 with repainting it with its initial dark blue colour and complete rebuild of all mechanical parts using NOS parts the last owner (ownership 1975-2008) had only driven 700 km (!). It has never seen rain and was parked in a climate controlled show room. Underneath it is as clean as the outside paint and is waxoiled. The speedo now reads a little more than original 32000 km. This Split was not shown at any VW meeting since ever except at the local autumn meeting of the German Split Window club in Munich 2008 where it ran down a storm. In the early ’90s it was shown at a special display at the famous Geneva Auto Show.

At the moment this car is located in Munich, Germany.

Price: € 35000

1947 US-Zone Split

 Any information regarding this early Split from 1947 would be much appreciated. If I’m not mistaken this picture was taken in Southern California. I’ts the only picture I’ve ever seen of this car. I’ve got a few unanswered questions I’d like to see answered. For instance, is it still in SoCal or has it left the States? Is someone restoring it right now? What’s the story behind this car? Any numbers known? Does anyone have more pics of this beauty?

Vintage Volkswagen Horror!

Precious Metal

I’ve spotted this car for the first time at a Vintage Volkswagen meeting in Belgium. A 1948 Split Beetle from Belgium, all original and unrestored! Amazing, isn’t it? The complete history of this car is known. The car once had an accident (front left side) in the early ’50s but was repaired with correct an original parts by a VW dealer during that time. They did a great job back then because you could not see it was repaired. The rumour goes that the current owner will keep it like this and will never restore it. This is what we call precious metal!

Real Investments

Looking good huh? This very nice speedometer from March 1948 has been recently auctioned on eBay and fetched a final price of € 715.  If you think the speedo’s expensive, just take a look at the next auction. A KDF headlight lens sold for a stunning € 1565. Yes, split parts from the ’40s are becoming real investments these days. Come to think of it, that we’re in the middle of an economic crisis. I wonder how the sellers must have felt like when the auctions ended? Probably like winners?