Ghia History

Karmann-Ghia History

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The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was produced between 1955 and 1974, with some 360,000 coupes and over 80,000 cabriolets completed. What is certain is that it was the most beautiful car ever produced by the BeetleMeisters, what is unclear is exactly how the car was designed and conceived.
Certainly the initial idea was sparked by Dr Wilhelm Karmann, who were building the Beetle cabriolet, suggested to Ghia that a beetle-based sports car could be made and presented to VW for their approval.

Several people claim a stake in the cars concept, in addition to the obvious triumvirate of VW in Wolfsburg, Karmann in Osnabruck and Ghia in Turin.

A Ghia or not - the Chrysler Coupe D'Elegance
In the early 50's, the American Chrysler designer Virgil Exner is credited with having at least some deal of influence on the project, if not it's overall design. Being Chryslers' prototype vehicle designer, he had met with Luigi Segre of Ghia and they had drawn up a contract for Ghia to build coupes penned by Exner. When the Karmann Ghia coupe was revealed in 1953, Exner claimed it to be a scaled-down version of his own Coupe D'Elegance. The picture to the left depicts Exners' creation. Naturally, this was disputed by Ghia who stated that Mario Boano at Ghia, had designed the car back in 1950.

Whoever designed the car, it was an instant hit with everyone who saw it. In the autumn of 1953, Dr Karmann was invited to see the car, in Paris (somewhat bizarrely) and was surprised that it was a coupe and not a convertible, as he'd originally planned. In fact he was totally unaware of the cars' actual existence until this time.
The original Karmann Ghia coupe prototype - at the Karmann museum in Osnabruck...

...the extra air slots in the engine cover and the 'Volkswagen' lettering - neither were used
The idea in essence, had been a simple one. Build a good looking sports coupe, using as many components as possible from a standard saloon - in this case the Beetle. The idea not completely new at the time, but Volkswagen were arguably the first to put the idea into serious production. The Beetle's floorpan was widened to take the extra girth of the coupe and Dr Karmann's factory in Osnabruck began to tool up for the job.

The car was finally shown to the VW chief, Heinz Nordhoff, who at first was dubious as to the cost of producing such a gorgeous looking car, when his company was squarely aimed at the standard saloon market.
Finally convinced that it was not only cost-effective, but profitable (and with the addition that it offered an inspired piece of marketing for a classy sports coupe from a somewhat mundane and austere stable), Nordhoff relented and one of the most aesthetically pleasing vehicles of our time, was finally given the go-ahead.

Luigi Segre Ghia

Assembly at the Karmann factory
Things weren't settled just yet though. The car was incredibly complex to build, being welded and lead-filled by hand from lots of small components. Also, the Karmann factory was so small, that they couldn't store even the number of cars required for the press launch in 1955, so the date was pulled forward some months.
The cars initial design was altered only slightly, with some changes to the rear engine cover, bumpers, indicators and the addition of front fresh air vents, the nostrils. Designated Type 143 by Volkswagen, the nameless car was christened by Dr Karmann who simply added his firms' name to that of Ghia and the Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia was born.

Although built in numbers, the Karmann Ghia was never turned out in vast mass-produced quantities and so remains quite rare. Though over 460,000 (including around 81,000 Cabriolets) were built during its 19-year lifespan, this is dwarfed when compared with the one-million plus Beetles turned out in the 1961 year alone. That year also marked the five millionth Beetle built, since the end of the war just 16 years earlier.

Ghia designers at work

This though, was the Karmann Ghias strength. It very nearly created its own market when shown and had the look and feel of a hand built sports car, with the running costs of the worlds most inexpensive to own car and a vast dealer network already in place.
It relied heavily on its reliability, cost of ownership, build refinement and looks as it was undoubtedly a sheep in wolfs clothing. With a 1192cc engine and pushing out a feeble 30bhp, which was only increased in 1960 to 34bhp. Hardly inspirational when compared with the similarly-priced MGB with it's 95bhp power plant and over 100mph performance, or the much cheaper Triumph Spitfire with a similar sized engine, which provided nearly twice the horsepower.
The advert to the left is an example of how Volkswagen used it's austere and plain-looking image to good effect.

Continual improvements meant that the Ghia managed to keep pace with the competition and was soon equipped with a 1300cc block - which only lasted a year in 1966. Then one of VW's finest engines, the 1500, powered all Ghias until it's final upgrade to a 1600cc unit in 1971, until the cars demise in 1974.

Original 1950's 30bhp engine...

...changed to a more powerful 1600cc unit
In the end, the car's very reason for being turned against it. Despite still being a pretty, if underpowered car, the mainstay US market legislation meant that it became increasingly uneconomical to refined the Ghia further. So it was then, that in 1974 after over 360,000 cars had been built, the Karmann factory's production switched to the Scirocco as the Karmann-Ghias' replacement.

Last of the breed. A late model coupe.

Click here for the Karmann-Ghia Story at Karmann Gmbh's Website

The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was produced between 1955 and 1974, with some 360,000 coupes and over 80,000 cabriolets completed. What is certain is that it was the most beautiful car ever produced by the BeetleMeisters, what is unclear is exactly how the car was designed and conceived. Certainly the initial idea was sparked by Dr Wilhelm Karmann, who were building the Beetle cabriolet, suggested to Ghia that a beetle-based sports car could be made and presented to VW for their approval. Several people claim a stake in the cars concept, in addition to the obvious triumvirate of VW in Wolfsburg, Karmann in Osnabruck and Ghia in Turin.
A Ghia or not - the Chrysler Coupe D'Elegance	In the early 50's, the American Chrysler designer Virgil Exner is credited with having at least some deal of influence on the project, if not it's overall design. Being Chryslers' prototype vehicle designer, he had met with Luigi Segre of Ghia and they had drawn up a contract for Ghia to build coupes penned by Exner. When the Karmann Ghia coupe was revealed in 1953, Exner claimed it to be a scaled-down version of his own Coupe D'Elegance. The picture to the left depicts Exners' creation. Naturally, this was disputed by Ghia who stated that Mario Boano at Ghia, had designed the car back in 1950.
Whoever designed the car, it was an instant hit with everyone who saw it. In the autumn of 1953, Dr Karmann was invited to see the car, in Paris (somewhat bizarrely) and was surprised that it was a coupe and not a convertible, as he'd originally planned. In fact he was totally unaware of the cars' actual existence until this time.		The original Karmann Ghia coupe prototype - at the Karmann museum in Osnabruck...
...the extra air slots in the engine cover and the 'Volkswagen' lettering - neither were used	The idea in essence, had been a simple one. Build a good looking sports coupe, using as many components as possible from a standard saloon - in this case the Beetle. The idea not completely new at the time, but Volkswagen were arguably the first to put the idea into serious production. The Beetle's floorpan was widened to take the extra girth of the coupe and Dr Karmann's factory in Osnabruck began to tool up for the job.
The car was finally shown to the VW chief, Heinz Nordhoff, who at first was dubious as to the cost of producing such a gorgeous looking car, when his company was squarely aimed at the standard saloon market. Finally convinced that it was not only cost-effective, but profitable (and with the addition that it offered an inspired piece of marketing for a classy sports coupe from a somewhat mundane and austere stable), Nordhoff relented and one of the most aesthetically pleasing vehicles of our time, was finally given the go-ahead.		Luigi Segre Ghia
Assembly at the Karmann factory	Things weren't settled just yet though. The car was incredibly complex to build, being welded and lead-filled by hand from lots of small components. Also, the Karmann factory was so small, that they couldn't store even the number of cars required for the press launch in 1955, so the date was pulled forward some months. The cars initial design was altered only slightly, with some changes to the rear engine cover, bumpers, indicators and the addition of front fresh air vents, the nostrils. Designated Type 143 by Volkswagen, the nameless car was christened by Dr Karmann who simply added his firms' name to that of Ghia and the Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia was born.
Although built in numbers, the Karmann Ghia was never turned out in vast mass-produced quantities and so remains quite rare. Though over 460,000 (including around 81,000 Cabriolets) were built during its 19-year lifespan, this is dwarfed when compared with the one-million plus Beetles turned out in the 1961 year alone. That year also marked the five millionth Beetle built, since the end of the war just 16 years earlier.		Ghia designers at work
	This though, was the Karmann Ghias strength. It very nearly created its own market when shown and had the look and feel of a hand built sports car, with the running costs of the worlds most inexpensive to own car and a vast dealer network already in place. It relied heavily on its reliability, cost of ownership, build refinement and looks as it was undoubtedly a sheep in wolfs clothing. With a 1192cc engine and pushing out a feeble 30bhp, which was only increased in 1960 to 34bhp. Hardly inspirational when compared with the similarly-priced MGB with it's 95bhp power plant and over 100mph performance, or the much cheaper Triumph Spitfire with a similar sized engine, which provided nearly twice the horsepower. The advert to the left is an example of how Volkswagen used it's austere and plain-looking image to good effect.
Continual improvements meant that the Ghia managed to keep pace with the competition and was soon equipped with a 1300cc block - which only lasted a year in 1966. Then one of VW's finest engines, the 1500, powered all Ghias until it's final upgrade to a 1600cc unit in 1971, until the cars demise in 1974.		Original 1950's 30bhp engine...
...changed to a more powerful 1600cc unit	In the end, the car's very reason for being turned against it. Despite still being a pretty, if underpowered car, the mainstay US market legislation meant that it became increasingly uneconomical to refined the Ghia further. So it was then, that in 1974 after over 360,000 cars had been built, the Karmann factory's production switched to the Scirocco as the Karmann-Ghias' replacement.	Last of the breed. A late model coupe.

Click here for the Karmann-Ghia Story at Karmann Gmbh's Website