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VW Beetle

LiveAuctioneers bidder wins classic VW Beetle at RM Auctions

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
VW Beetle
This 1979 Volkswagen Cabriolet sold within estimate to a LiveAuctioneers bidder for $22,400. RM Auctions image

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – RM Auctions returned to Florida the weekend of April 6-7 April for the company’s 16th annual Fort Lauderdale sale, where the auction house achieved $19.1 million in total sales and a strong 76 percent of all lots found new homes. The total included noteworthy items purchased by bidders using LiveAuctioneers online.

A 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet in Mars Red show-quality paint sold for $22,400 through LiveAuctioneers on Friday, April 6. The convertible had a fuel-injected four-cylinder engine and a four-speed transmission. This little beauty represented the last year of production for the classic Beetle design.

On Saturday, April 7, RM Auctions also presented an Automobilia auction as part of the Fort Lauderdale event. One of the top items in that auction was an Orange-Crush Vendo 81 vending machine, which sold for $5,600 to a LiveAuctioneers bidder.

VW Beetle
Estimated to sell for $8,000-$12,000, this Orange-Crush vending machine sold to a LiveAuctioneers bidder for $5,600. RM Auctions image

Top sales at the Fort Lauderdale event were led by a pair of Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs, each offered from significant long-term Michigan homes. The most valuable lot of the two-day auction was a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, which sold to a phone bidder for $1,540,000 following a lengthy competition (est. $1.2M/$M1.5m).

A late-production, European-specification Roadster featuring an alloy engine block and disc brakes, the never fully restored and lovingly maintained 300 SL was offered from four decades of single-enthusiast ownership with a mere 36,600 original miles.

It was closely followed by a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, which also ignited a bidding battle, eventually bringing a final $1,193,500 (est. $1.0M/$1.3M). A highly original example, the Gullwing came directly from the person who had owned it since 1968. It had been exhibited in various Indiana museums over four decades.

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VW Beetle