When discussing derelict classic cars, we usually think about vehicles stored for decades in barns or left to rot away in junkyards. But many so-called “barn finds” are often hidden in places you wouldn’t expect, like basements and backyards. Wait, what? Can a vehicle be hidden in a backyard? Isn’t that like in plain sight?
Well, not necessarily, because some get buried in junk or end up covered in overgrown vegetation. Remember the 1965 Porsche 912 that the folks over at “The Late Brake Show” unearthed (literally!) in Cardiff, South Wales, in early 2022? The car you see here is just as iconic, and it also spent decades buried in a garden.
This time around is not a Porsche, and it’s nowhere near as valuable, but it has quite a few things in common with a 911. For starters, it’s made by Volkswagen, a company with many ties with the sports car manufacturer. Moreover, it’s a Beetle, a car Ferdinand Porsche designed more than a decade before he established his own company.
Discovered by YouTube’s “Jerry Explores,” the first-generation Beetle spent at least a few decades hidden in the bushes near an abandoned cottage. And I say “at least a couple of decades” because the property it sits on has been empty for about 20 years, but the car looks like it’s been retired from public roads for longer than that. And sadly enough, the old Volkswagen looks like it needs an expensive restoration to become more than a parts car.
Surrounded by a thick layer of trees and vegetation, the Beetle is difficult to get close to, so our host can’t provide the footage for a proper assessment. But it sure looks like rust and moss have taken over all body panels due to exposure to the elements and the damp British weather. It’s unclear whether it still has an engine under the rear hood, but it doesn’t make much difference since the chassis is likely too far gone.
