Volkswagen Beetles Were Honored At the Cincinnati Concours

The first Volkswagen Type 1 was built in 1938. Dubbed the Beetle because of its shape, this "people's car" became one of the largest selling automobiles ever with over 21.5 million being built through 2003 when their run officially ended. To celebrate the 85 years of this car the Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance set up a special class to show off these cars. Among the Beetles on display was this 1961 model that has been in the same family since 1973. It has the 1.2 liter air cooled flat four cylinder boxer engine that generates a total of 40 horse power.

The shortest production year for the Beetle was 1955 and this was one of the cars from that run. It has operating semaphore turn signals and European lighting. It runs on a 1.1 liter air cooled flat four cylinder boxer engine that generates 36 horse power.

The first time Beetle sales in the US topped 300,000 was 1966. This is one of those cars. The base price that year was $1585. This car has an air cooled 1285 cubic inch flat four cylinder engine that puts out 40 horse power.

The early 1970s saw the improved 1302 Beetle which, in North America, was sold as the Super Beetle. This all original, including the tires, 1972 car has a mere 2600 original miles. It runs on an air cooled 1.6 liter flat four cylinder boxer engine that generates 60 horse power.

This is a 1971 Super Beetle. This was the first year for that designation. This car is three inches longer than its predecessor. It features a McPherson strut front suspension and disc brakes. It has the 1.6 liter flat four cylinder boxer engine that generates 60 horse power. It was one of 12,201 convertibles sold in the US.