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Famous Cars: Patton’s Willys JeepIt’s Easy to Fall for this 1955 Volkswagen Beetle
This beguiling ’55 VW Beetle perfectly illustrates why this little German runabout became a giant international phenomenon.
Small Car, Big Personality
It’s not hard for a Volkswagen Beetle to catch your attention. After almost 80 years, the Beetle’s unmistakable design still cuts a distinctive silhouette on the road. The Beetle’s unique charms, its simplicity, and its playfulness have made it beloved by car enthusiasts and the motoring public at large.
We’re always on the lookout for special, unusual, or otherwise exceptional cars listed on Carsforsale.com. As the Beetle is among the best-selling cars of all time, it thus has hundreds of examples listed on our site to choose from. But even with so many to pick through, a particular 1955 example stood out for its exceptional condition and stunning curb appeal.
Background
Before we dig into what makes this specific ’55 Beetle an outstanding example, let’s explore the unusual, some might say improbable beginnings of the original Volkswagen. The Beetle, that icon of 70s flower power, the ubiquitous Vocho taxi of Mexico, ironically began as a project for a “people’s car” (aka a Volkswagen) in Hitler’s Germany in the mid-1930s. The Fuhrer wanted a simple, mass-produceable family car. Engineer Ferdinand Porsche developed the Kfd-wagen (Kraft durch Freude meaning strength through joy), but the car’s production was postponed due to the war and the KdF-wagen’s design serving as the basis for both the Küblewagen and the Schwimmwagen military vehicles.
After the war, the Allies went to work helping the defeated Germans rebuild. Part of that effort included reconstituting the country’s manufacturing base. As a make-work project, the Brits ordered up 20,000 units of the Beetle with production commencing on the “Type 1” Volkswagen in 1946. First exported to neighboring European countries, the humble Volkswagen proved a popular choice thanks to its affordability and mechanical simplicity. By 1950, the Beetle was being exported around the globe, including to the US. In 1955, the Beetle, less than ten years into production, hit 1 million units sold.
Porsche’s basic design for the Beetle proved an enduring success, even far beyond the Beetle itself. The layout consisted of a small, air-cooled, boxer four-cylinder mounted behind the rear axle. That architecture was adopted for the Porsche 356 (which moved the engine to midship) as well as the Volkswagen bus. The first production series engine displaced a modest 1,131cc (1.1L) and made 24 horsepower.
The Type 1 Beetle remained largely unchanged for 65 years as final production in Mexico concluded in 2003 with over 24 million units.
This Charming ’55 Beetle
Even with plenty of Beetles to choose from, this 1955 example stood out. It’s fetching Terra Cotta paint job certainly turns heads, complete with color matching wheels wrapped in white wall tires. It’s hard not to love the canvas sunroof and tartan headliner or the white vinyl bucket seats, wicker basket cubby, or the dash-mounted flower vase (the blumenvase was an interior option going back to the 1950s).
This Beetle has been fully restored with a mere 10,798 miles since its 2020 overhaul. In back sits the 1,192cc boxer four-cylinder making 36 horsepower and paired with a four-speed manual transmission. Electricals have been upgraded to a 12-volt system which allows for the new-ish stereo that includes Bluetooth capability and a CD player (located in the glove compartment).
Most compelling of all, this 1955 Beetle includes the B-pillar fold out semaphore turn signals, a feature that was discontinued in 1955 in the US but lasted into 1960 for those Beetles sold in Europe.
Priced at $36,995, this 1955 Volkswagen Beetle is not the most expensive early example you’ll find. But given its impeccable condition, eye-popping color scheme, and distinctive quirks, this Beetle is certainly one of the most collectable examples you’re likely to encounter.
