1978 Volkswagen Super Beetle Champagne Edition Convertible
Bela Barenyi, an 18 year old Hungarian student, submitted a chassis design for a "Volkswagen" in 1925 and is recognized as designing the basic VW Beetle. Ferdinand Porsche, an Austrian automotive engineer, created the Volkswagen Beetle after receiving a contract from Hitler in 1934 for prototypes. The Beetle's air cooled flat 4 engine was designed by Franz Reimspeiss not Ferdinand Porsche. Even with 20 plus million being built to date, he received less than twenty dollars for his work.
For consignment, a 1978 Volkswagen Super Beetle Champagne Edition convertible with a title verified 80,168 actual miles. It's been owned by our consignor since 1983 and restored in 2003. This is one of 1,100 Champagne Edition Super Beetles produced in '77 and '78.
Exterior
Deep end of the pool with Ancona Blue Metallic paint, specific to the Champagne Edition, covers the straight steel panels and rounded fenders for this bug. Running boards connect the fenders, which show chrome topped turn signals attached to the front and elephant's foot three colored lights attached to the back. The headlights are sporting chrome trim bezels, which give the car much of its personality. All badging, metalwork, chrome bumpers and hardware are in good condition. A white canvas top also looks great and houses a glass rear window. 15-inch polished wheels wear VW dog dish hubcaps in chrome and are wrapped in 165R15 tires. The rear deck houses louvers and the coveted Fuel Injection emblem characteristically mounted at a slant. The paint is great, and we could not find any exterior imperfections.
Interior
D5 is the color code for Ermine White which was another Champagne Edition exclusive and is first seen here on the door cards, mated with black cranks, actuators and armrests are equipped with a pleated pouch for storage and they are clean and straight. White vinyl high back bucket seats in front and a back bench make up the seating and it's all in very nice shape and pops against the blue paint that spills onto interior parts. The clean steering wheel sports the Wolfsburg logo and leads to burled elm imitation veneer across the dash, reserved for the special edition and a modern AM/FM/CD player replaced the AM/FM that would have been supplied by VW. A simple shifter rises from the floor showing a bit of patina and is surrounded by black loop style carpet in fine shape, and the frunk is clean and flat.
Drivetrain
The clean engine is a 1,585cc flat 4 cylinder, air cooled, fuel injected and rated at 50 horsepower. It is attached to a 4-speed manual transmission that keeps the power in back with 3.875 gears. Front disc brakes were a special feature and the standard drums are in back.
Undercarriage
Very clean underneath with most of the square footage being occupied by a belly pan. The drivetrain is in driver quality condition with minimal residual oil and surface rust reserved for parts of the exhaust only. That's dual exhaust that enters a stock style muffler before exiting via one tailpipe that protrudes from the cutout in the roll pan. Suspension consists of MacPherson struts in front and semi trailing arms with a transverse torsion bar in back.
Drive-Ability
Fuel injection for the win as this car started right up, and drove smoothly with straight tracking, smooth shifting, and eventually got up to speed. Its exhaust note is quintessentially Volkswagen and we'd have it no other way. The Beetle's unique sitting position affords great visibility and a comfortable perch. On our short test loop, we checked all the boxes for functionality. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase.
A nicely restored and relatively rare Champagne Edition of the VW Beetle. The white interior, named for that Arctic dwelling weasel, is a real winner and makes a cheerful car that much happier. It would be very difficult to be down in the dumps while sitting in a bright white interior! Classic Beetles show no sign of losing their collectability any time soon and this is one you can enjoy for miles.
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8 acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person. There is no guarantee of mileage. A $299 Dealer Administrative fee is not included in the advertised price.
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