1961 Volkswagen Beetle

- All Original, Classic Bug
- Original Turquoise Paint
- 1200cc 4-Cylinder
- 4 Speed Manual

(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1961 Volkswagen Beetle on a site other than GarageKeptMotors.com, it's possible that you've only seen some of our many photographs of this vehicle due to website limitations. To be sure you access all the more than 150 photographs, including a short walk around-and-startup video, please go to our main website: GarageKeptMotors.)

“Few things in life work as well as a Volkswagen.” -1960s VW Ad

Touting its revolutionary decision not to dramatically change a model's look just to introduce a different-appearing version every fall, Volkswagen instead touted how frequently the company made improvements to the cars throughout the year: “People sometimes ask us why we don't change our cars once a year like everybody else. The answer is simple: once a year isn't always enough.”

The VW Beetle's extremely long-lived styling is part of what makes the early models still in demand nearly sixty years after they first came ashore in the U.S. Purity of the design, simplicity of the engineering, and plain old nostalgia seemingly ensure demand for these classic German automobiles will never die out. Properly maintained, the cars are not only timeless, they're seemingly eternal!

The all-original turquoise blue '61 model here is a good example. It is still powered by the 1200cc horizontal 4-cylinder rear-mounted engine as it came from the factory. Never repainted, the exterior of the car remains unchanged. And the interior is similarly original, and shows very little “patina” on the pale-blue (almost white) vinyl upholstery or the two-tone turquoise-and-white door trim.. As the collector-car adage goes, “They're only original once.”

For its 59 years on the planet, this bug shows extremely well. Outside, the body is dent-free. The 32,000 miles it's traveled (considered very low for a four year-old car, much less a 59 year-old) have apparently been accident-free, courtesy of adult ownership and careful use. Maybe most of all, there is virtually no rust. Body panels are straight and retain their factory alignment. The paint is consistent overall. Even the car's body-color-painted steel wheels and original chrome, VW-branded center hubcaps remain in excellent condition. Bumper chrome (including the front and rear “overrider bars”) and trim is similarly well kept, as is window glass and both headlight and taillight lenses. All emblems are present, and the Wolfsburg hood insignia is sharp-as-new.

Inside, the characteristically simple dash with large center VDO speedometer retains its factory-applied paint. The 4-speed manual shifter knob is correct. No radio is installed so the flow of the dash is uninterrupted. The VW Wolfsburg (celebrating the northern German city of its manufacture) steering-wheel- center emblem is crisp and undamaged. Carpeting and floor mats show very little wear. Inside the tidy and correct front trunk, there's a full-size spare in the “sideways” position adding a measure of frontal crash-protection. The 1200cc flat-four rear-engine compartment is similarly clean, complete, and well cared-for. (Be sure to check out the startup-and-walk-around video at the GarageKeptMotors site to sample the sound of the properly maintained engine.)

The more than 150 high-definition photographs of the car taken from every angle including from underneath, faithfully represent this survivor. That said, we encourage in-person inspections of this lovely early Beetle at our Grand Rapids, Michigan showroom. We ask only that an advance appointment be arranged by phone or email. Our showroom is not open to the public, so your appointment helps ensure you have our full attention during your visit.

Will a well-maintained, original early Beetle ever lose its collector appeal? Who can say… but it hasn't happened yet!