Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
| Volkswagen Type 14/Type 34 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Volkswagen (in Brazil Karmann Ghia do Brasil) |
| Production |
Germany 1955–1974
Brazil 1962–1975
|
| Assembly |
Osnabrück, Germany São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil (Volkswagen do Brasil) |
| Designer | Luigi Segre at Ghia |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2-door convertible 2-door coupé |
| Layout | RR layout |
| Related | Volkswagen Beetle |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1200 cc, 1300 cc, 1500 cc, or 1600 cc Flat-4 |
| Chronology | |
| Successor |
Porsche 914 Volkswagen Scirocco |
Germany 1955–1974
445,238 built
Brazil 1962–1975
41,689 built
The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is a sports car marketed in 2+2 coupe (1955–1974) and convertible (1957–1974) body styles by Volkswagen. The Karmann Ghia combined the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 (Beetle) with styling by Luigi Segre of the Italian carrozzeria Ghia and hand-built bodywork by the German coach-builder Karmann.
The Karmann Ghia was internally designated the Typ 14. In 1961, Volkswagen introduced the Typ 34, a variant based on the newly introduced Type 3 platform and featuring angular bodywork.
Production doubled soon after its introduction, becoming the car most imported into the U.S. More than 445,000 Karmann Ghias were produced in Germany over the car's production life, not including the Type 34 variant. Karmann Ghia Brazil produced 41,600 cars locally for South America between 1962 and 1975.
American industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague included the Karmann Ghia in his list of the world's most beautifully designed products.
The Type 14 debuted at the October 1953 Paris Auto Show as a styling concept created for Ghia by Luigi Segre.
In the early 1950s, Volkswagen was producing its economy car, the Type 1 (Beetle). With an increase in post-war standards of living, executives at Volkswagen proposed adding a halo car to its model range, contracting with German coachbuilder Karmann for its manufacture. Karmann in turn contracted the Italian firm Ghia, who adapted styling themes previously explored for Chrysler and Studebaker to a Beetle floorpan widened by 12 in (300 mm). Virgil Exner claimed that the design was his, based on the 1953 Chrysler D'Elegance.
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