During the last six months of split rear window Beetle production, between October 1952 and March 1953, Wolfsburg produced a ‘hybrid’ or, using its more commonly known German name, the ‘Zwitter’. It still had the split rear screen but adopted the later Oval rear window Bug’s dash and various other details like the oval shaped horn grille and later curved bumpers. We talked about an historic racing ‘Zwitter’ on the blog here, but now we’ve spotted what’s got to be the ultimate ‘Zwitter’ for sale out in the States. A totally stunning L73 Chestnut Brown ragtop…
It’s being offered by Oldbug.com and dates from December 1952. Apparently, it was restored in Europe then snapped up by a US buyer to form part of a collection before being passed on to another owner in Florida who now needs to sell it to make room for a Porsche 356. It’s not cheap at $65,000 (roughly £46,000) – but judging by the quality of the restoration, it’s likely to be worth every penny…
Having sat around for a while, it’s recently undergone a freshen up with a new fuel tank being fitted, new fuel pipes and a carb rebuild while the bodywork has also been meticulously detailed so it looks virtually like new again.
Of course the real selling feature on this car is the sunroof and this one is the desirable ‘three fold’ type which has a significantly larger opening than later roofs – it’s recognisable by the fact that the edges of the fabric is squared off as opposed to being rounded. The three fold bit refers to the fact that when it’s fully back there’s ‘three folds’ in the fabric.
What impresses also is the attention to detail and the correctness of the period features like the radio, carpets – the speedo – and the headlining. Likewise, the engine is all correct – for example it has the period flat top distributor as fitted to the 25 horse engine. All in all, it’s a real gem – and if only I had a few more quid in the coffers I’d sure be tempted…
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage