Record-Breaking Sale Prices for Movie Cars
A Volkswagen Beetle featured in the 1980 film Herbie Goes Bananas sold at auction for 2,5 miljoner kronor, setting a world record for the model despite being in far from perfect condition, carup.se reported. That sale price outpaces a factory-fresh 1964 Beetle whose seller demands three million kronor without finding a buyer.
The Vegas Casino Ceiling That Fueled Bidding
Heritage Auctions offered the 1961 Beetle in December 2023 after it spent years suspended from the ceiling of the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas. The car included modifications that Volkswagen purists note are incorrect for its model year, yet it let a driver operate the vehicle while hidden in the back seat. That unusual display history drove the intense bidding war.
Production Scale Across the Franchise
Discussions around Herbie’s film history involve dozens of vehicles, since production teams used more than 50 Volkswagen Beetles across the film series of the 1960s and 1970s. alone utilized 23 different Beetles, though stunt scenes destroyed most of them. A second Herbie car that appeared in two films sold for drygt 1,4 miljoner kronor through Barrett Jackson in 2015.
Herbie Stunt Car Sells at New York Auction
Bonhams sold an invisible-driver stunt car used in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo for 900,000 kronor at a New York movie memorabilia auction in November 2015. The original film in the franchise, The Love Bug, debuted in December 1968 and grossed 550 miljoner kronor against a production budget of 50 miljoner kronor. Archival records show Disney considered ten different vehicle models, including several Volvos, before selecting the Beetle for the lead role.
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