Sure, that title may have piqued your interest, and before you sharpen the pitchforks ready for the ‘it’s clickbait’ remarks, we’re telling the absolute truth when we stated that this stretched-out love bug was almost double the price of a Lamborghini Miura. Still don’t believe us? You’ll have to read on to find out this car’s incredible story, or better still, bid on it for yourself as it heads to RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale on August 15.
2,063 dollars is the price Austrian expat and amateur racer John von Neumann would have paid for a Volkswagen Beetle brand new back in 1969. While he didn’t choose to race this Beetle, his business of bringing Porsches and Volkswagens into California was thriving. He would buy Porsches two at a time from noted distributor Max Hoffman in New York, before driving them cross-country with his wife to buyers lined-up in the sunshine state. Eventually, this lead to Von Neumann establishing Pacific Volkswagen, Inc. in the mid-fifties as the official distributor to the West Coast and Hawaii, and it is for this business that the “Rollswagen,” so dubbed in a 1977 VW press release on file, was commissioned.
The car was taken to Culver City coachbuilder Troutman-Barnes, builder of Chaparral and Scarab racecars, and widely known for converting a 1968 Porsche 911 into a four-door. The customizers added 40 inches to the wheelbase of the Beetle, stretching the car to an impressive 16 feet, 6 inches overall. The cohesive conversion’s factory appearance is thanks in part to genuine VW components being used wherever possible, including for the custom rear doors and running boards. Not content with its new length, the car would arrive at the elites of the SoCal hot rod scene, including Junior’s House of Colors in Lynwood, who were responsible for the “baked enamel” black paint, while well-known hot-rodder and drag racer Tony Nancy of Sherman Oaks worked wonders on the interior upholstery.
Becoming a celebrity of its own, the Rollswagen would reach its stardom as it became the face of Volkswagen's national ad campaign as “The $35,000 Beetle,” at a time when a new Lamborghini Miura cost $20,000. After being passed through a small number of highly reputable Volkswagen collectors, the car is once again looking for a new home, and is estimated to fetch between 150,000 to 200,000 dollars, significantly less than a Miura's value today, but still one of the most expensive and outrageous Beetles to ever exist!
Monterey, 16 Aug
