Pukka set of wheels: Jamie Oliver's VW campervan

Jamie Oliver, I'm sure you'll agree, has more than his fair share of fame and fortune, so ordinarily I might not be inclined to give his bank balance a boost with a bit of free advertising for his old motor, now up for sale.

However, this is a very special old motor; a TV star, in fact, as it was seen driving around southern Europe in the Oliver vehicle Jamie's Italy a couple of years ago. Mind you, it wasn't such a great ad for this 1959 Volkswagen Samba campervan, as the thing kept breaking down and Jamie himself pronounced it "a pain in the arse". Hardly pukka at the time, then. He hasn't used it properly for a while.

Still, for the less demanding motorist it could provide a little amusement, what with its provenance and special features. No wonder, perhaps, that Coys of Kensington is looking for £50,000-plus for it when it goes to auction soon. The camper is in pretty good condition, and I had the chance to take it out for a few miles.

As I say, you have to be an undemanding driver, despite the improvements made to its running gear. It has a 2.4-litre VW/Porsche 914-spec engine with a Porsche-style cooling system. The gearbox was recently overhauled by VW specialists who flew to Italy with a complete gearbox and tools in their hand baggage and reconditioned the box in a baker's car park under an olive tree. The brakes have been upgraded with servo assistance and are very effective, with discs up front and new drum assemblies at the rear. The van, lowered and stiffened, now sits on Fuch alloys.

Even so, driving it is relatively hard going. I've never been in a vehicle where the steering wheel is angled away from the driver. On my brief test drive, reverse and second gear were a little tricky to engage, though I understand that any mechanical issues will be remedied before sale. I can quite understand why there's also a Range Rover and a Maserati Quattroporte in the Oliver stable.

This van has had a chequered history. According to Campervan Crazy, the definitive work on these vehicles by David and Cee Eccles, it was discovered in a scrapyard in 1991 by Matt Keene, an enthusiast, who set about a four-year restoration. This involved sandblasting the shell and chassis and replacing all the metalwork, including parts fabricated specially if spares couldn't be found. Matt fitted front-opening "safari" windows, pop-out windows all round and an opening rear window for the ultimate in cool. The purple and white paint-job was Matt's as well.

In 1999, it passed into the ownership of a London music-video producer. During this time, it was stolen by a woman who locked it in her garage and polished it every day. It was returned unharmed, and shinier. Oliver saw it while riding past on his scooter, knocked on the window and asked to buy it. More upgrades followed.

If you're not an originality freak, the campervan is an enthusiast's dream: its interior has been refurbished tastefully, and the (non-original) paint and chrome are in good nick. It's fitted with satellite navigation, a Play-Station, two TVs and a high-spec audio system. It has a cream interior, and is even fitted with Cath Kidston curtains ordered by the owner.

For the TV show, the van pulled a specially built trailer kitchen so Jamie could cook wherever he pitched up. This impressive bit of kit, also VW campervan-based, is being thrown in. Now, Jamie says it's "time to start a new project", and a 1954 campervan shell is coming from Australia. So this one, with its 23 windows, needs a new home. Who'll open the bidding?

Jamie Oliver's van (plus trailer) goes under the hammer on 27 May at the Coys event at Brands Hatch