Classic Car Insurance for Volkswagen Beetle (1960-69)

The Classic VW Beetle (1960-69)

The 1960s marked the peak of the Volkswagen Beetle’s popularity, as it became an icon of counter-culture and placed Volkswagen on the map in North America. And around this time, the Beetles produced between August 1960 and 1969 came with significant new developments compared with the somewhat rudimentary original design and the slowly evolving car that sustained VW in the 1950s.

A new engine producing more power and torque was joined by an automatic choke and a synchromesh transmission, bringing the car up to date and maintaining its mainstream appeal as a simple car anyone could drive. The suspension was updated with a new anti-roll bar and the steering upgraded with a hydraulic steering damper, too.

Further upgrades for Beetles in the 60s included a slight redesign to incorporate larger windows, from 1965 onwards, while further engine expansion resulted in 1,300cc and 1,500cc variants, again with more power than the 1.2-litre option introduced in 1960.

And towards the end of the decade, the evolutionary upgrades kept flowing. New bumpers, headlights and taillights with integrated reversing lights appeared for the first time, and a number of safety revisions were introduced. By the end of the decade, the once barebones people’s car was available with a three-speed semi-automatic transmission.