VW’s electric Bus, the ID.Buzz, makes its debut on Wednesday, March 9, but first, look at this classic version currently up for auction.
• VW Buses from the 1960s remain popular, which should mean this nicely restored example on Bring a Trailer will get its fair share of attention, in part because it was previously owned (2010–2016) by Jerry Seinfeld.• This van was converted to a camper by EZ Camper of America, which added wood paneling around the built-in sink and ice chest. Small cabinets and fold-away tables round out the light camping rig.• The seller purchased this van in 2016 for around $100,000 and is selling it alongside a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT that also once belonged to the comedian. Bidding is already up to $48,000 for the VW (and $1,860,000 for the Porsche), and the auction ends Friday, March 11.Volkswagen knows there are people out there with a deep, deep appreciation for the classic VW Bus shape, whether they know it is at the Transporter, the Microbus, the upcoming ID.Buzz, or any of the permutations in between. If your idea of the “real” VW Bus lies comfortably in a gauzy 1960s flashback, here’s your chance to own a well-maintained example that comes with a bit of removed celebrity cachet. It’s listed for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—with bidding open until Friday, March 11.
Well-kept VW vans from the 1960s are always worth checking out, and this one has some bonus reasons to be today’s pick on Bring a Trailer, including the fact that it was owned by comedian Jerry Seinfeld between 2010 and 2016, according to seller Bill Noon, who has a history of offering interesting vehicles on BaT. He purchased this vehicle in 2016 at auction for $95,000, or $104,500 after commission fees.
There’s no question this 1964 Volkswagen Type 2 Bus is worthy of taking an entire troupe of comedians out for drinks. The restoration and camper conversion was done by EZ Camper of America, which covered the exterior in Pearl White paint (including the steel wheels) and the interior in gray vinyl upholstery and wood paneling. There’s also a built-in sink, a Mobilaire ice chest, cabinets, and fold-away tables. The powertrain uses a 1.5-liter flat-four engine and a four-speed manual transaxle. The odometer shows 18,000 miles, for what that’s worth at this age.
Seinfeld certainly has a thing for VWs. He once told David Letterman he drove a VW Bus from Albuquerque to New York City (we can’t confirm that this auction is for the same Bus), and for the first episode of the eighth season of his web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan tooled around in an old VW van. Seinfeld also drove Matthew Broderick around in an old Beetle in a different episode in 2018.
Noon, the seller of Seinfeld’s VW Bus, is also offering another car from the comedian’s collection, one that is well outpacing the current bids for the bus. While the bus is sitting at $48,000 as of March 7, a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT that Seinfeld purchased new in 2005 is up to $1,860,000. Seinfeld kept the Porsche until 2011, and another owner has held on to it since 2015. The Porsche only has 3700 miles on it, so don’t expect to get too much of that New Seinfeld Smell on this one.
Keyword: Seinfeld’s 1964 Volkswagen Camper Van Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick of the Day