Volkswagen Samba Bus 1966 21 Window (German built)
History: With more than 21 million sold worldwide, the Volkswagen Type 1 (or “Beetle,” as it was nicknamed soon after its debut in 1939) would become the best-selling car of all time. Under the direction of the German government to build a “people’s car,” Dr. Ferdinand Porsche set about building prototypes in Stuttgart in the mid-1930s. Production started under British occupation in Germany before the end of 1945, with worldwide exports beginning in the early 1950s. Volkswagen, like other manufacturers, would continue to refine their car and develop variations of the original, but they would also share components throughout their models in order to increase production efficiency and profitability. One of those variants, the iconic Volkswagen Transporter, first arrived on the American continent in 1949.
Competition was non-existent, as there was nothing like it on the market at that time. As it used standard Beetle components, it was at once familiar and easy to maintain and its parts were readily available. It quickly became popular as an efficient way to move people. The Transporter was dubbed the “Micro Bus,” and it would further evolve into other vehicles, including a pickup truck and cargo/delivery van. Its combination of efficiency and practicality deemed it an instant hit with the “flower power” generation of the ’60s, and its boxy design made it the perfect canvas for peace signs, pop-art flowers, and psychedelic paint schemes. The Micro Bus was powered by a 1,500-cubic centimeter, overhead-valve, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine that could produce an adequate 40 horsepower. It rode on a 94.5-inch wheelbase, was suspended by a semi-elliptic leaf-spring suspension with shocks and coil springs, and had four-wheel drum brakes.
Our Car: The car we offer is an original German built LHD 21 window Samba Bus, the rarest of the VW T1. It was built and sold new to Germany in 1966 and was exported to the UK in 2004 where it was adopted by a loving British family who gave it the name “Honzi”. During this time a more powerful engine was fitted with the car along with a full body restoration. In 2019 we purchased the car and gave it further upgrades including Bluetooth speakers, an Air-conditioning system and a full engine rebuilt along with LED lights and other mechanical upgrades by a VW specialist.
Honzi retains its original U.K. registration since 2004 but is now an Italian resident and you will find him available for sale at our premises in Padova, Italy
Price: 119.000euros
