As a kid I was pretty obsessed with vintage Volkswagen Beetles and Microbuses. I loved how diverse the enthusiast following was, and how people would modify their Volkswagens in totally different, interesting ways. There are so many ways to do up an old Beetle, and all are valid but I think every bug needs one specific thing: Wheel spats.
I’m a fan of wheel spats in general. Also sometimes called fairings, fender covers and other things, these panels partially or fully cover the rear wheels. It’s for both style and aerodynamics, used by cars like the Citroën DS all the way to the McLaren Speedtail. Volkswagen offered wheel spats on early model years of the Beetle, and I think they take the iconic design to another level. This 1956 Beetle that Gooding & Company has up for auction is a perfect example.
Earlier Beetles have the cleanest designs, with softer bodywork, simpler features and more of a jet-age vibe. Before it was replaced with a larger rectangular window in 1958, the Beetle had a small oval rear window that better fit the car’s aesthetic. Along with the wheel spats, this Beetle’s blue-tinted Stratos Silver paint, bright hubcaps, whitewall tires and factory rollback sunroof give me the vibes of old streamliners like Tatras and the Stout Scarab.
Gooding says this Beetle had its interior redone with a special-order cloth called Pünktchen Blau (blue with small dots), and it looks fabulous. The car also got “an extensive mechanical restoration” that included a machined and cut engine block. Additionally, this Beetle has more than 30 period accessories equipped, with some features that truly surprised me:
The Beetle also features an impressive list of rare period accessories, including a Hella spotlight, a Motorola Big M radio with matching speaker, Perohaus seven-day, manual-wind clock, suitcase, Taylor compass, and even a rarely seen Hertella Paluxette, six-volt, dash-mounted coffee maker – truly a sight to behold.
A dash-mounted coffee maker! That is wild. There’s no word on whether it actually still works, but given the condition of the rest of the car, I bet it might. Gooding will be auctioning off this Beetle as part of its Pebble Beach sale, with no reserve and an estimated sale price of $60,000 to $80,000.
