The Boeckmann Collection is focused in large part on the automobiles on which great memories were made—iconic machines that are as much a part of American pop culture as of vehicular history. Naturally included in the fleet is a Volkswagen Beetle in that most familiar of liveries: Perlweiss with red, white, and blue stripes, and a distinctive number “53” in its racing roundel. It is, simply, “Herbie,” the star of well-remembered Disney films that began with 1969’s The Love Bug and continued through four sequels in-period and several later revivals on both the big and small screens.

This particular “Herbie” was set up with revised rear suspension and other modifications, and used for high-speed driving in the third film in the series, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, released in 1977 and starring Dean Jones, reprising his role from the original film, and Don Knotts. It remained with the film studio for three years, then was sold at a 1980 auction of the company’s film cars and other props, held at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. There it was purchased by Harrah’s Automobile Collection of Sparks, Nevada, for many years the world’s largest and most famous assemblage of vintage and modern automobiles. Beginning in the last years of Bill Harrah’s life and for a short period after his 1978 death, the Collection had begun to acquire significant pop culture automobiles, including well-known customs and film cars, in an attempt to broaden its appeal to younger visitors. The acquisition of “Herbie” was one such move.

Alas, the Harrah’s collection was dispersed later in the 1980s, and at the 1985 auction, “Herbie” was acquired by Herbie Livingston—no relation!—a colorful fireworks manufacturer, who installed it as part of the collection at his Herbie’s Antique Car Museum in South Carolina. It was sold from the museum in 1995 to Daryl Adams of Florida, and later that year to Robert Bolek of Ohio. Mr. Bolek was a great caretaker of this very famous Beetle for 17 years, showing it at many events while taking care to preserve its “film-used” condition aside from mechanical maintenance.

Acquired for the Boeckmann Collection, the Beetle retains its paint, striping, and “53” roundels; California black plates “OFP 857;” Trans France window stickers; and numerous other film touches, including a Carello fog lamp, 14-inch wheels, and an interior with custom high-backed seats and a removable vent panel in the engine compartment. The doors were rigged to open automatically if humor demanded it, and pumps were installed to squirt water or oil at “Herbie’s” nemesis. Disney’s stenciled “CAR NO. 2” still appears under the hood,

Every enthusiast with a heart should have a place in that heart for “Herbie”—a place that would be well-filled by this car, the genuine article and one of the most famous Volkswagens of all time.