1955 Volkswagen Bus Breaks Auction Price Record

 The front of a 1955 Volkswagen Oval-Window bus

Volkswagon cars have been around forever and are still a top choice for drivers of today. The company is known for some of their bolder yet iconic models such as the Volkswagen Beetle but also for their  traditional cars like the Jetta. Another extremely classic model is the Volkswagen bus that has a unique figure with big headlights and plenty of passenger space to bring people along for the ride. People find these vans to be such a collector’s item that someone just purchased a 1955 model for $235,000 at a recent auction.

A German auction company was selling the minibus in one of its auctions and surprisingly sold the Volkswagen vehicle for a record setting price. The buses have turned into one of the cars that define the 1960s, but the once cheap automobile is now more heavily sought out by some. The old Volkswagen bus was a cheap and unreliable vehicle during its time that had 30 horsepower and was good for traveling around in packs; however, there was certainly no shortage of these cars due to their demand.

Although the Volkswagen minibus was never that fantastic of a car, apparently only 11 models were made during 1955, making this specific bus a highly valued collector’s item. Considering the vehicle went on to define a time period and is much more popular, it starts to add up why someone was willing to spend so much money to win the auction. There’s a massive nostalgia factor that comes into play with these cars now and before this, the highest price paid for a bus was $218,000 back in 2011 in California. The Volkswagen bus was last produced in 2013, but are no longer available through the company, so it will be interesting to see the price trends for this car in the coming years and whether or not people feel the need to get their hands on one.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Written by Blaise Hopkins

Feel free to contact Blaise on Twitter @Blaisehopkins or check out his blog Man and His Movies.