1973 VW Sports Bug, Super Beetle, Limited Edition, Rare California Car now green

1973 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic Description

The 1973 Sports Bug was a limited edition release with a host of special details that were not seen on other Beetles - it was a one time release in 1973 - cars with VIN's that start with 133XXX are Sports Bugs. 20,000 worldwide were produced.

This car was sold in California on July 13, 2973 by Neufeld Motors, 100 Main Street, Redwood City, California. It moved to Norther Virginia in 2003 and has been off the road since 2010 (12 years) Overall condition for a 47 year old car, is good. The floors appear to be solid, the brakes work, the lights, clutch, wipers all work - I put a new battery in and she lit up. Stereo works as well. I put new gas in, WD40'd the accelerator cable to loosen it up - and it fired right up with the normal bug sound we are all familiar with. It will need a tune up as it has been sitting for 12 years. There are 4 matching wheels and two spares. There are miscellaneous bits and pieces that come with the car and an old VW repair guidebook with illustrations on how to keep your bug alive. The car comes with a roof rack ($400.00 vale) and a Tow hitch which works perfectly well. I have not owned this vehicle very long nor have I driven it on the road - it comes with a clear Virginia title in my name.

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In 1972, for the Sports Bug model - the special seats, wheels and steering wheel were major components, the blacked out bumpers and trim were another detail that made the car unique.A graphic stripe was also available as a part of the package but not all Sports Bugs had it.There were just two colors offered for the Sports Bug, the bright yellow and the"Scintillating Marathon Metallic" which is hiding under the Army Green Color you can see on this car. There were fewer Marathon Metallic Blues imported to the US than the Yellow models. The L96M paint code can be seen in the front trunk .

Factory Fitted Optional Equipment:

Distinctive special paint finish that included paint matched finish to bumpers trim, black exterior trim, Heated Rear Window, leather sports steering wheel by Petri AG

D010
M002 US equipment
M 102 Heated Rear Window
M247 unknown
M290 unknown
(M 409 (Racaro sourced) Sports seats)
(M 444 51⁄2J x 15 (ET26) (Lemmerz”GT”) sports style wheels, CONTINENTAL 175/70 HR15 T5714 or PIRELLI 175/70 HR15 CN36 1 tires)
(M 550 Vented front apron)
(M 616 Back-up light in the brake/indicator light)
M 617 unknown
M 698 unknown

The Sports Bug and it’s sister Gelbschwarzer Renner (GSR) were the only two SEBs ever fitted with 51⁄2J x15 (ET26) (Lemmerz “GT”) sports wheels. The succeeding year’s Big Beetle having ones with an offset of ET34.

Importer/Dealer Fitted Optional Equipment:

In line with intensive media promotion Dealership’s offered an array of themed optional accessories were offered and ‘loaded’ showroom display cars with them. These including: the distinctive US designed red and black ‘waist’ stripe (Part No. ZVW146120) anodized matt black trim items including vent grill trim (used to cover the grill below rear window for stripe continuity), four piece engine lid vent grill set, front & rear gravel guards, exhaust tail pipes and black plastic headlamp surround made for VWoA by Production Plastics of Michigan.

Sales brochures had shown the Edition with black headlamp surrounds as had the initial shipment of cars (“Dune Buggies and HotVWs” review article September/October 1973) The majority of cars however appear to have been shipped with the standard chrome surrounds accounting for almost all cars shown in PR photographs having them.

20,000 Sports Bugs were produced (UK Safer Motoring magazine, June 1973) by Volkswagen AG at Emden, (Germany).

Sales Literature:

The Sports Bug was vigorously publicized by Volkswagen of America Inc (VWoA). This included American produced and published sales literature, national magazine adverts declaring “Volkswagen announces a limited edition Volkswagen” and extensive television ads suggesting:

“If you don’t get it now, you might not be able to get it at all”.

The sales brochure came in the form of a fascinating little folder, which opened out to illustrate two Sports Bugs surrounded by full color cartoon characters commenting on the cars. This was the work of Jack Davis, better known for his extensive contribution to comic art, including MAD magazine. The text teased:

“On rare occasions we blow our minds and put out a limited production of a real fun car. This is one of those rare occasions… We made a small number, and then, so to speak, we broke the mold. So if you want one, let’s hear it. Like now?’

The sales brochure also encouraged buyers to:

“Come on heavy, deck your Sports Bug with these black metal trim options…bumper overrides, door handle shields, gravel guards, rear hood grille and flare-tip exhaust extensions”.

This car is sold AS-IS - please inspect it if you can prior to bidding. The car is located in Vienna VA, near Washington DC. There are no returns. The pictures are your best guide to determine if this car is for you. My description is based on my observations - there may be things that I have missed or rust under the body that I have not noticed. The car cannot be driven away as the tires are old and the brakes need to be checked and the car needs a tune up to run smoothly. The previous owner may have had work done on the car prior to my ownership that I am not aware of. You can tow it with the tow bar (1-7/8" ball) or have a tow firm pick it up.