WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 16 (UPI) -- The Volkswagen Beetle known as Herbie, from Disney's films sharing the same name, hits the auction block Friday, Sun Sentinel reports.
"No one believes it's the real Herbie, or one of the real Herbies" owner Anthony Ribeau says of the white Love Bug, "but it is."
The restored Beetle turned heads Wednesday as it cruised around West Palm Beach's CityPlace. Herbie's traditional red, white and blue racing stripes are too hard to miss, even 47 years after the first film, The Love Bug, was released in 1969. Passersby reportedly snapped selfies with the celebrity.
"Before Fast and Furious and all that, here's a car that had a personality and was a character," said auction chairman Craig Jackson. "It was more than just a car. It was one of the first movies that a car was really a star."
This particular racecar was the driving version of the one used in both Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), the owner says. It also had the special skill of squirting oil from its passenger-side wheel.
"If there was any car on the road that reminded you of a puppy," pop culture professor at Syracuse University in New York says, "that was it."
The car is set to be auctioned off at the 13th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in West Palm Beach between April 17-19.
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