70 Years Of The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

In the late 1950s and 1960s, a Type 14 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia seemed almost impossibly exotic to many Britons; a car for film stars and successful pop singers. The engine may have been the 1,192cc unit from the Beetle, but the image was one of the high life. To see this 1963 Anthracite and Pearl White example sold by Mason Hogg is to think of the Henley Regatta or a Mayfair niterie.

The story began in 1949 when Volkswagen' contracted the Osnabrück coachbuilder Karmann to make the Beetle Cabriolet. When Wilhelm Karmann JR took control of the firm in 1952, he was more than aware of European sports cars enjoying success in the USA. Volkswagen was unkeen on having the Beetle used as the basis for a coupe, but Karmann JR was a friend of Luigi Segre, the owner and chief stylist of Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin.

In 1953, Segre presented a Beetle-derived design in utter secrecy to Karmann JR in a suburban garage; a scenario that belongs to a post-war spy film. The prototype was then sent to Osnabrück, and a viewing was arranged for Volkswagen’s CEO Dr. Heinrich Nordhoff and his vice-president, Dr. Feuereisen. As a result, the Karmann Ghia made its bow on the 14th of July 1955. Volkswagen provided the Beetle platform and the sales network while Karmann was responsible for the KG’s assembly.

The Karmann Ghia’s superior aerodynamics to the Beetle meant it was 10 mph faster, despite the extra weight of the coupe body. Some die-hards muttered about "housewives’ Porsches" or "secretaries’ Ferraris", but KG owners did not care. Such was its popularity that sales exceeded 10,000 by 1956, with 60% of Karmann’s output destined for the USA. One early brochure promised: “Every flowing, graceful line... every breath-taking detail... every magic touch of luxury and comfort of the beautiful Karmann-Ghia Coupe”.  Road and Track noted that “the backlog of orders is already such that most dealers are quoting two to four years for delivery”.

What the Karmann Ghia did not offer the motorist was blistering performance – the top speed was 78 mph with 0-60 in 26.5 seconds - but the US concessionaire made this a virtue with some brilliant advertising. One campaign read:

Underneath the exterior, both cars are the same.

Volkswagen engine,

Volkswagen spare parts,

Volkswagen service prices. 

Any Volkswagen dealer can repair it, anywhere. 

Volkswagen introduced the KG Cabriolet at the 1957 Frankfurt Motor Show, and two years later, the Karmann Ghia received a facelift, with raised headlamps, opening rear side windows, and windscreen washers as standard. As for UK sales, the KG was initially only available in LHD form. In 1958, Acland and Tabor Ltd of Hertfordshire offered a RHD conversion, adding £100 to the £1,235 price for the standard model.

Consequently, the Karmann Ghia cost more than a Ford Zodiac or a Vauxhall Cresta.  

The ‘facelift’ versions, such as Mason’s KG, could be ordered with factory RHD but they remained an expensive proposition. When Autocar tested the Karmann Ghia Coupe in 1961, the price was £1,196 1s 8d, while a 3-litre Austin A99 Westminster was £1,149. You could have also saved nearly £200 by ordering a standard Beetle Cabriolet, but the report found the KG “very stylish” and in most ways “pleasing and untiring to drive”.

The Karmann Ghia also had very few direct rivals in the UK, for the MGA Hardtop at £1,027 was a different form of coupe: one for drivers who favoured club blazers and flat hats. The Sunbeam Alpine Series II Hardtop at £1,046 and the Triumph Herald Coupe at £736 were closer in appeal, but neither had the Karmann Ghia’s air of Continental chic. Perhaps the KG’s nearest alternative was the Renault Floride Coupe, another elegant rear-engine tourer which at £1,238 was even more expensive than the Volkswagen.

Production ceased in 1974 after 363,601 Coupes and 80,881 Cabriolets with the introduction of the Volkswagen Scirocco. Today any Karmann Ghia is an object of desire. On its launch, the KG symbolised the post-war German Wirtschaftswunder ‘Economic Miracle’ - a car far removed from the world of everyday transport. It also arguably set a template for the Renault Floride and Caravelle, the Ford Capri, the Opel Manta, and the Toyota Celica; coupes with no outward resemblance to their parent saloon models. 
And, as one KG brochure put it, “you'll agree it's the last word in smartness, luxury and engineering perfection”.

With thanks to Mason Hogg for his time.

With thanks to Mason Hogg for the permission to use the images in this blog.