Is the Volkswagen Beetle…yes, the Type 1, Bug, whatever your pet nickname for it…is it iconic? Absolutely. The shape has been around for what seems like forever and it takes sincere effort to somehow confuse a Beetle for any other car on the road, ever. Over 21 million of the things were sold worldwide over the course of sixty-five years, and even after Germany quit making them, Brazil and Mexico kept churning them out until 2003, when Mexico required taxi cabs to be four-door cars, effectively killing off the last major market for the hunchbacked Beetle.
But would you actually, willingly, pay roughly $1.1 million dollars for one of the last 2003s produced? One seller in Wolfsburg, Germany is hopeful, and if anybody has a shot at getting the money, this guy does. His beetle, one of the last 3,000 “Última Edicións” produced at the Puebla, Mexico plant, was built on July 29th, 2003, the day before production ended, and has only seen 120 kilometers of movement. It is painted Harvest Moon Beige and sports a basic black interior that is as minimalist as Beetles always were, with one single gauge covering speedometer, fuel and a couple of idiot lights. The Beetle is a 1.6L….er, 1600 with a four-speed manual transaxle, just as you remember them. Sure, the flat-four has fuel injection now, as well as electronic ignition and a catalytic converter, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s the same 44hp Beetle that you could buy new in the States in the 1970s. Which leads you to wonder: why on Earth would anybody spend a million dollars on a Beetle?
(Note: Pictures are not of the car for sale.)
Classic Trader link: 2003 Volkswagen Beetle Última Edición
They say a fool and his money are easily parted……
Soon parted. But if this guy’s got that kind of money, he’s no fool. He just has wierd tastes.Like Chevy guys…
Only if it’s an original KDF Wagen, a Kommandeurwagen, or a 1945 type 1. But with the Type 2 (bus) prices being where they are now, it’s not long before normal folks are priced out of the VW hobby. 1.1 Mil for a late Mexican bug, please, only if it were towing a Bugatti.
A Bugatti based kit car on a VW floorpan….
It is common knowledge that when Volkswagen in Puebla, Mexico ran the last “official” 2003 Beetle, the press ate it up. But soon there after, once all the editors and photographers went back home, the assembly line started back up to make another “batch” of these air-cooled Beetles. Just how many were made in this last batch is anyone’s guess. Buyer beware on the “Last Beetle.”