Originally built in panel-van and Microbus variants, Volkswagen quickly identified a market for a more luxurious version of the Microbus which arrived in 1951 as the Samba or, in America, the 'Sunroof Deluxe'. 

It was easily identified by its 21 or 23 windows, including eight skylights in the roof, as well as twin side doors rather than a sliding door, two-tone colour schemes divided by a decorative trim strip, and an extension of the roof creating a kind of built-in sunvisor. A large sunroof was a popular feature. Volkswagen envisaged the Samba being used for transporting tourists around the Alps, with the additional roof lights affording excellent panoramas.

This example survives today in excellent condition, having been subject to a comprehensive  restoration some years ago which still holds up very well. It would be a wonderful classic for the whole family to enjoy, and is sure to turn everyone's heads at an air-cooled Volkswagen event.

 

 

The Volkswagen Samba is not your average minibus. Instead of threadbare fabric upholstery, hollow plastic fittings and a stained carpet, we have the very best German design and manufacturing to enjoy in an interior which is simple, but tasteful and well put-together. 

The painted metal dash is in excellent order, with no paint damage that we were able to see. There are some cracks in the plastic shell of the steering wheel, which is true of most 1950s and ’60s cars with plastic steering wheels, but that is hardly an issue. 

What really makes the dash stand out is the lovely original push-button radio and – better still – a lovely decorative vase!

The bench seats are fantastic, being of pure white vinyl highlighted with red piping. White is, of course, a colour prone to showing up even the smallest blemishes, but we did not spot anything wrong at all in here.

The door cards and their chrome fittings are equally good. The only marks we did notice are on the vinyl on the inside of the bulkhead, which have probably been made by feet but, down there, nobody’s going to notice them.

Even the carpeting is distinctive, it being comprised of hessian mats, which really complement the look and character of the car. They, too, are in excellent condition, as is the headlining.

The large rear luggage space benefits from the same combination of hessian and white vinyl, and is so good one might think it had never been used.

This Samba looks lovely with its subtle contrast of beige and white, and is lovelier still for the superb condition it’s in all over. 

Apart from a few very small marks and chips on the bumpers, it would be nigh-on impossible to fault. Unfortunately, the Volkswagen does appear to have received a light scrape at some point along its nearside – the evidence of this is a scratch and very shallow dent just above the nearside sill, and some similar damage at the edge of the rear bumper bar.

All the chrome is very nice, exhibiting just the very light patina that virtually all cars of the Volkswagen’s age exhibit. All the glass is excellent, and the sunroof looks to be in lovely condition, too. The steel wheels are very nice and clean with only very minor cosmetic blemishes, and the chrome hubcaps are in much the same excellent condition as the rest of the chrome. Underneath, all presents immensely well and is very clean.

The MoT record shows that this Volkswagen was in use at least from 2006 until 2017, but it was only used very sparingly during that time, with its mileage reading moving from 27,493 to 31,726 miles, and since then it has only covered a little over 200 miles. 

Its MoT record during this period was consistently spotless, and as it has not been in storage for all that long, however just to be sure everything is in tip-top oder.

Everyone knows and loves the Type 2 Volkswagen, but not everyone is expert enough to know which ones are really desirable. 

Simply put, if you’re after a ’bus, the Samba is the one to go for, and you’d do well to go for this one.

It’s highly original and correct, and in lovely condition all over. There are some very minor cosmetic blemishes which could easily be remedied while keeping it on the road, so they’re not going to spoil your enjoyment. 

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