VW Karmann-Ghia: When Wilhelm Karmann approached Volkswagen's boss Heinz Nordhoff in 1950 with the idea of producing a sports car based on Beetle components, he didn't get a good response. But he persevered, and when Nordhoff finally warmed more to the concept, Karmann approached Ghia of Turin to come up with a design.
There's a degree of fuzziness about whether or not the eventual design was an adaptation of a Chrysler concept which had never gone into production, but the car that was revealed in July 1955 was absolutely gorgeous, with curvy bodywork, a long bonnet and equally long rear "deck" under which was stowed a standard 1.2-litre Beetle engine.
That meant that it was no way as sporty in performance as it looked, but the buying public didn't seem to mind, and a production run of some 10,000 in its first full year was more than satisfactory for VW's first 'halo' car. Neither did they mind that it was considerably more expensive than the Beetle on which it was based, accepting that the hand-crafted body was worth the money.
The car was officially designated the Type 143, because it was based on the Volkswagen Type 1, or Beetle. Two years after the launch of the coupé, the Type 141 cabriolet was added to the mix, and boosted substantially the overall sales figures for the model, which eventually peaked at an annual production of around 33,000 units.
A major facelift to the car in 1959 didn't fiddle with the overall shape, but still managed to change the wings, place the headlights higher and reposition the windscreen and the doors. In the meantime, a 1.3-litre engine added more power from the original 30bhp unit. This was increased to 34bhp in 1960.
With the arrival of Volkswagen's Type 3 car over the turn of the 1960s, a replacement was planned and a completely new car, the Type 34, was unveiled in 1961. This was absolutely different from the Type 14, with a much more edgy shape and swooping sharp front end details. It was powered by the 1500cc engine from the Type 3 saloon and wagon series and was to become VW's flagship and most expensive car.
Around the same time, production of the Type 14 was commenced in Brazil with a view to phasing out the car quickly in Europe. But customer demand for the 14 was such that VW changed its mind about discontinuing it, and it was sold alongside the 34.
The Type 34 simply wasn't a success, and with only 43,000 copies sold - all coupés, because it was found financially unviable to make a cabrio variant -- the model was discontinued in 1969. In 1966 the 14 got VW's 1300cc engine, giving the car a little more punch. But just a year later the car acquired the 1500cc unit which had powered the 34.
Another variant was developed in Brazil in 1970, the 1600 TC which was a fastback style based on the 14. In 1971, the 14 received its second major facelift and got new bumpers and changed tail-lights. It also got the 1600cc VW engine. A year later the only change was larger tail-lights, and in 1974, totally outclassed by its competitors and with VW turning its back on rear-engine formats, the Karmann-Ghia was killed off. The TC variant in Brazil remained in production until 1975.
Throughout its life the Type 14 attracted very strong interest from the US, but Volkswagen was not prepared to have expensive production of the car ramped up to meet the demand there, so it was left to US VW dealers to make individual deals with counterparts in Europe to supply what they could. As recently as the early 1990s, this writer had an acquaintance in Dublin who was quitting his job to source old Karmann-Ghias in Europe and ship them to a strong classic market in the US.
In all, some 450,000 Karmann-Ghias were produced, of which 80,000 were cabriolets. When the car was discontinued, Karmann built the Scirocco for Volkswagen. The company has built a number of sporty cars in the decades since, including what some say is the spiritual successor to the Karmann-Ghia, the Audi TT.
But to those who remember the most beautiful car that ever had the distinctive phutt-phutt sound of the Beetle's flat-four, nothing has since come close.
Born: 1955 Died: 1974