First named the KdF (Kraft durch Freude or “strength through joy”), the Volkswagen Type 1 was affectionately nicknamed the “Beetle” or “Bug” in English. The first was produced at the Wolfsburg plant in August of 1940, and 1,785 were produced until the factory was destroyed in 1945. After rebuilding the Works, a few VWs were imported into the United States in 1949, but the model did not gain much popularity until the mid-1950s. They were offered in three styles: sedan, sunroof sedan, and cabriolet, like this model. Unlike the European-delivery Beetles, United States imports were designated as “Deluxe,” with more chrome than their home market models, and they were available with optional radios, glove boxes, hydraulic brakes, and synchromatic transmissions. Improvements were made every year, and popularity increased for the adorable little cars.

The understated charm of the Beetle was especially endearing when contrasted to the massive early post-war American cars. In 1957, 380,561 VWs were produced, including 8,196 cabriolets. An innovative and clever advertising campaign attracted the flower-bedecked counterculture and anyone who was looking for a reliable, inexpensive, and appealing mode of transportation. Early buyers included Paul Newman, Princess Margaret, and Marylou Vanderbilt Whitney.

This delightful Beetle Cabriolet was ordered new by Herbert Haskell in October 1956, completed by the factory on 10 December, and shipped stateside via the SS Ludwigsburg, where it arrived at the Port of Charleston, South Carolina, on 29 January 1957. The Haskells kept the car at their summer home in New Hampshire and drove it sparingly over the ensuing 30 years. With a scant 37,000 miles on the odometer, it was then sold at the Haskells’ estate sale on 17 October 1987 to Volkswagen enthusiast Gordon Davis. Davis kept the highly original Beetle for nearly a decade when it was sold to Rocco Graziano of Vermont in 1996. Several years later, it was acquired by the current consignor from Scott Doering in Colorado and has been dutifully maintained to this day.

Offered here by just its fifth owner, the cabriolet is remarkably mostly original other than having been repainted in its original Inca Red in the late 1960s. The tires and top were later replaced, while the drivetrain, interior, top boot, and spare tire are all original. The car also includes original sales literature and an expansive file documenting its ownership history, maintenance, and low original mileage.

The introduction of the New Beetle in 1997 re-awakened interest in car collectors, when values of the early cars began to rise. As many of these early cars had been modified or neglected during their lifetime, an original, honest, unmolested example, like this charming little red convertible, is inarguably at the top of the most-wanted list for Volkswagen enthusiasts and, therefore, the most collectible of them all.