VW Australia acquires early Beetle

In unveiling the rare car, Michael Bartsch, VGA Managing Director, said it will be the first piece in a planned museum of historic Volkswagens to be housed at VGA’s headquarters in Chullora, NSW. The museum will be open to VW customers, fans and the general public.

Bartsch acquired the Beetle from Australian collector Andy Roberts in 2017, but its history in this country goes back much further.

Alongside Bartsch and Roberts at the unveiling was Dieter Regel, whose father was the original owner of the car back in 1951. What’s more intriguing is that Dieter’s father had the car converted to RHD when it was basically new. The reason is because the elder Regel was planning to migrate to Australia with his family back then and wanted to bring the Beetle with him.

When it arrived here, the Regel car would have been one of the first Beetles seen in this country. Volkwagens weren’t publicly available in Australia until 1954, first as full imports, then as CKD kits for local assembly. A handful of Beetles did arrive prior, though, via government sources, or through personal importation, like the Regel car.

Rumours abound of VW building a short run of right-hand drive ‘test’ Beetles in 1951 and 1952 before RHD production proper started in 1953, initially to service the UK and Irish markets. Those same rumours say as many as 200 factory RHD Beetles were built back then and all went to Canada for military use.

Other sources say RHD Beetles were first assembled from CKD kits in Ireland in 1950, followed by South Africa in 1951.

Either way, the Regel Beetle is unlikely to be from any of the above, as the VGA release describes it as being converted in Stuttgart, which did not house any known Volkswagen facilities at that time.

While both Regel and Roberts have an emotional connection to the fully-restored car, the passion for early Beetles was just as evident in Bartsch.

“I was first brought home from the hospital as a baby in a Volkswagen, and for as long as I can remember, my family has always had a Volkswagen in it,” Bartsch explained.

“Bringing this amazing vehicle home to VGA has brought me great joy; and to me, is a part of the legacy I’d like to leave for the company,”

The 1951 Beetle is now in display in the VGA headquarters at 24 Muir Road, Chullora.