Few vehicles embody the spirit of global exploration and creative freedom quite like the Volkswagen Westfalia camper van. Beloved by travelers and artists alike, the Westfalia is a canvas for adventure, a haven for the wandering spirit, and a symbol of unbound creativity. The spirit is captured completely in this 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Westfalia owned from new by legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, and used by him as a mobile writing studio.

For Mr. Coppola, the Volkswagen van was more than a vehicle, it was a sacred workspace. Dating back to the filming of The Rain People in 1968, he adopted a Westfalia as a creative refuge, continuing a ritual of retreating to remote places to write, reflect, and create. Over the years, as earlier vans aged, Mr. Coppola replaced each with near-identical successors, culminating in this final 1987 example. “The VW is where I wrote many of my scripts,” Mr. Coppola remarks, a fact featured in George Lucas’s documentary Filmmaker: A Diary.

Factory-finished in Wolfram Grey Metallic over light gray velour upholstery, this Vanagon GL Westfalia shows just 16,570 miles from new at the time of cataloguing. In a nod to personal comfort and creativity, Mr. Coppola outfitted the cabin with a Sony sound system and a drop-down video monitor, transforming the interior into a warm, lived-in, creative escape.