German cars sold

[Mike K]

Newspaper snippet .

[David Dunlop]

I wonder where they are today.


David

[Mike K]

One was found in 1990....... but they weren't 1940 models

https://www.clubvw.org.au/vwreferenc...ry/history001/

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

I wonder where they are today.

I suspect they’re now in somebody’s cutlery drawer, part of a metal fence, incorporated into a ship, or something similar.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

I wonder where they are today.

The most interesting one, the Typ 51, was restored to a better-then-new condition and was for sale for a whopping USD 280,000: https://uncrate.com/1945-typ-51-volkswagen-beetle/

Balking at a six-figure price for one is understandable until you know the history and then it makes a little more sense. This extremely rare Typ 51 Beetle was imported to Australia for evaluation by the Australian government in 1947 as part of Germany's reparations for WWII.

[Mike K]

What an amazing restoration, considering the car was found abandoned in such a harsh environment as Flinders Island is, located in Bass Strait. One wonders how much of the car was left when it was found. And, how it got to Flinders Island in the first place.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Mike K

What an amazing restoration, considering the car was found abandoned in such a harsh environment as Flinders Island is, located in Bass Strait. One wonders how much of the car was left when it was found. And, how it got to Flinders Island in the first place.

It is amazing to see what absolute wrecks of early Volkswagens are restored to pristine condition. Some are "data plate restorations" like they do on WW2 aircraft as most of the missing parts are being reproduced. Even though they will never be rare cars, they still are very popular and people are willing to spend huge sums of money on them.

No doubt this Typ 51 was snapped up a rich collector. Here's hoping it gets driven frequently!