1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Every year, just before the Super Bowl, Barrett-Jackson puts on one of the biggest auto auctions in the country. It has been several years since I have attended, primarily due to the threat posed by the COVID pandemic. There were a dozen or more huge tents to protect the majority of the vehicles to be auctioned off. Unfortunately, it was cloudy which made photography a challenge (because of low light levels) and it was quite chilly which challenged me to be selective in the choice of cars to photograph. Offered from collector ownership, climate-controlled storage, and attentive care, this 1979 Volkswagen Beetle cabriolet is offered in original condition with just 613 miles on the odometer. Rooted in Germany's prewar KdF-Wagen initiative, the Beetle was conceived from the early experiments of Project 12 at the Porsche facility, where engineers settled on a rear-engine layout and a simple yet effective platform chassis. Countless revisions yielded no less than 30 distinct prototypes by the mid-1930s, with the Series 38 design developed for production. Continuously produced through 2003, Volkswagen's Type 1 Beetle was remarkably similar in concept to Henry Ford's Model T - an affordable "people's car" of durable design, economical operation, and low price. This is a bit newer than my 1968 VW Beetle which was my first car after graduating from college and was a sedan, not a convertible. I couldn't afford a more expensive vehicle but mine proved to be reliable and inexpensive to operate in Minnesota. It only cost $2,000 brand new while this one sold for $38,500.
Size: 7338px × 4746px
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Photo credit: © B. David Cathell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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