Description

1972 VW Beetle GT

Running and driving special edition Beetle; 1600cc engine; rare model with nice extras; showing just 73,000 miles

'Hot Property' says the GT Beetle brochure - 'A very special Beetle at a very special price'.

It carries on....

'The GT Beetle is a 1300 Beetle with extras. It costs £19 more, £997 instead of £978.

What are the extras?

Well for a start it has a 1600cc engine instead of a 1300cc. Which gives you 60bhp at 4000rpm instead of 52bhp at 4100rpm.

81.7ft lbs at 3000rpm, against 68.7ft lbs at 3500rpm. Plus a lot more oomph through the gears.

To cope with this extra urge we've put disc brakes up front instead of standard drums.

The next goody we come to (there are ten in all) is another frankly expensive item: special wheels. We confess they don't go any better than our standard wheels. They merely distinguish the GT Beetle as a breed apart. Particularly as we've fitted them with radial tyres.

Extra number 5 is really three items: three fruity special colours, tomato red, lemon yellow and apple green. No printing inks do them justice.

Sixth on our list (are you mentally totting up the value?) is a new rear light cluster: 80 square inches of winker, stop light and reflector.

Inside the car we've cloth upholstery. It's warm in winter, cool in summer. It won't shine your suit. Or take the creases out of your jeans.

There's also a non-reflective, matt black padded dashboard.

A tunnel tray which helps keep all your bits and bobs in one place.

And a sports gearshift which is your link with what Car Magazine called "a smooth featherweight gear change of legendary accuracy".

That's it for 19 quid. Now why so much for so little? Well on December 15th the 300,000th Beetle arrives in Britain. And to celebrate we've built a limited number of GT Beetles which we're selling at this give-away price.'

So went the brochure - which sums up what you got rather nicely we thought.

Now this GT Beetle (as referenced on the V5C) comes in Tomato Red and is known as 'Cecil'. The special steel wheels which were originally on the vehicle were replaced with alloys - probably in the late 90’s. The front and fear wings have been replaced at some point with fibre glass ones but the interior is in good condition and rear seat belts have been fitted as an additional safety feature.

The carpet set has been replaced recently and the dark blue velour seats and door cards were in the car when the current owner purchased it in 2016. The original door cards and seats would have been Beige in colour.

The badge on the back says 1300 S which confuses, but the GT Badge was a dealer fit accessory and came as 1300 S unless specified at time of purchase. Just below the passenger window is a rivet which was to determine that it was a GT model as it went down the production line, which is present. The car has a radio/cassette player. 

Cecil has had six owners since 1973 and comes with its handbook. The spare wheel is probably original, under the bonnet. The car has had many new parts over recent years including invoices for a new clutch in 2020, Bosch Battery, brake hoses, gearbox mounts, valve cover gasket, rear wheel cylinders and rear brake strip in 2020, new front shocks, luggage compartment liner, fuel tank, fan belt, fuel cap and ignition leads. The Beetle has benefitted from frequent oil services regardless of the few miles added.

There are various invoices going back to 2007 and previous MOT certificates going back to 1987.

It appears a good honest car. The bodywork would benefit from some attention, but it is a great classic Beetle and a particularly interesting model to own. A bit of diligent searching for the correct seats, wheels and of course the badge would deliver a most desirable Beetle and would be well worth the effort involved.

For more information - contact [email protected]