The distinctive yellow (called Tunis Gelb and the same colour as the stitching in traditional jeans) clearly sets this car apart visually even before you know its back story.

Not only is this one of the 1,200 limited edition ‘Jeans’ Beetles produced by VW for the UK market between Aug and December 1973 of which less than 90 are understood to still exist, it is an even more limited and special vehicle as it is what is known as ‘Frostrite’ (not a typo) dealer special.

This car was modified from the limited-edition Jeans spec still further by the well-known Cambridge VW dealer Jack Frost.  To create a ‘Frostrite’ Beetle, a black vinyl top was added by the Cambridge garage to further enhance the black-out theme. Though Jack Frost also put some bling back in, with chrome finger plates, rain gutter trims and rear grilles, the Frostrite was also loaded with desirable optional extras (for a Beetle anyway) consisting of …brace yourself; a passenger sun visor, Blaupunkt ‘Wolfsburg’ stereo, ‘sports’ wooden gear knob and a fuel gauge within the speedometer were all thrown in.

This car is thought to be the only ‘Frostrite Jeans’ beetle left running anywhere in the world!

Now referred to as the ‘Jeans Beetle’  this piece of history was acquired by Martin in 2021 from its second owner who themselves purchased it in 1996 from the car’s first owner, being the original Jack Frost customer.

The second owner used to work at the Jack Frost VW dealership in Cambridge and remembered undertaking the pre-delivery inspection on the car before it was handed over brand new to its first owner and therefore realising the significance of the model, he leapt at the chance to own it.