The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was introduced in 1956. It was the result of a joint venture between the German Karmann body works and Ghia. It wore styling by Luigi Serge of the Italian carrozzeria Ghia and hand-built bodywork by the German coach-builder Karmann. It was built on the Beetle floorpan and given its drivetrain. Initially available only in coupe form, a convertible was introduced two years later. Its internal designation was the Typ 14.The first Volkswagen Karmann Ghia rolled off the assembly line in Osnabruck, Germany in August of 1955 as 1956 models. Production lasted until 1974 and in that time some 365,912 coupes and 79,326 convertibles were produced. More than 445,000 Karmann Ghias were produced in Germany over the car's production life, not including the Type 34 variant. Karmann Brazil produced 41,600 cars locally for South America between 1962 and 1975. The Karmann-Ghia was very successful and popular in the United States, where most of the production was sent. 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.
By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016
For 1969, the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia received an independent rear suspension setup, with a double-jointed rear axle and semi-trailing arms replacing the swing axles. Power was supplied from a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine which had a 91.1 cubic-inch displacement size and offered just over 50 horsepower. The engine was backed by a four-speed manual transmission. Disc brakes could be found in the front with drums at the rear.
By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016
Related Reading : Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia History
In 1950, Karmann approached Volkswagen with a design for a new vehicle. Karmann had a working relationship with Volkswagen that went prior to this project that included the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet. The idea was initially rejected by Volkswagen so Karmann approached the coachbuilding company Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin who built the first prototype of the vehicle, completing in 1953. In November....
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Related Reading : Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia History
A red sports car barrels through a deserted landscape, driven by a helmet-clad professional as an excited announcer extols the virtues of the commercials featured automobile. Surely Volkswagen did not invent this archetypal format of romanticized car ad when they borrowed it to market their Karmann Ghia to bored TV audiences. Volkswagens seemingly ordinary commercial included a twist ending, though.....
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Volkswagen Celebrates 60 Years Of The Karmann Ghia
Volkswagen Celebrates 60 Years Of The Karmann Ghia
Thanks to the Karmann Ghia, Volkswagen had a car in the mid-1950s in its line-up that was positioned above the Beetle, allowing the company to appeal to a broader customer base. It is now 60 years since that prototype was shown internally, on the occasion of the Paris Motor Show. The car went into full production in 1955. Today the one-off prototype is one of the stars of the Volkswagen Osnabrück....
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