Here's one that everyone missed out on. A young fellow who lives near me and is a VW mechanic and enthusiast has one in very good original condition.

At Barrett-Jackson's recent Orange County, California auctions, a 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III James Young sedan went for $159,500, a 2005 Ford GT sold for $165,000 and a 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger cleared $215,600. Topping them all, and every other car for the weekend: a 1963 Volkswagen Samba Microbus, sold for $217,800 inclusive of bidder's fee.

Even though Sambas, which were the top-of-the-line first generation bus and made for Alpine touring, have strong values, no one appears to be sure why this one beat everything else on offer. It's restored to "much-better-than-new condition," but that still doesn't explain why it set a record for any VW bus at auction. We can only wonder where and when it will pop up for auction again, since for that kind of coin, we don't imagine it will show up at any Magic Bus Extravaganzas or follow Phish around...

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