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The Karmann Ghia is a two-seater sports car marketed by Volkswagen, designed by the Italian firm Ghia, and built by German coach builder Karmann. Over 445,000 Karmann Ghias were produced between 1955 and 1974. Photo taken by User:Minesweeper on February 29, 2004 and released into the public domain. ...
Photo taken by User:Minesweeper on February 29, 2004 and released into the public domain. ...
Photo taken by User:Minesweeper on February 29, 2004 and released into the public domain. ...
Photo taken by User:Minesweeper on February 29, 2004 and released into the public domain. ...
Honda NSX sports car TVR Tuscan sports car New style 2005 Ford Mustang Ruf RGT Vector W8 A sports car is a type of automobile designed for sporting performance. ...
Volkswagen (VW) is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany. ...
Ghia (Carrozzeria Ghia SpA) is one of the most famous Italian automobile design firms, founded in 1921 in Turin by Giacinto Ghia (lived 1887 - 1944). ...
Wilhelm Karmann GmbH in Osnabrück, Germany is an independent company in the motor vehicle industry. ...
1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...
History In the early 1950s Volkswagen was producing small, fuel efficient, reliable automobiles (Like the Volkswagen Beetle); but as the world recovered from World War II, consumers began to demand more stylish and elegant vehicles. The Volkswagen Beetle or Bug is a small family car, the best known car of Volkswagen, of Germany, and almost certainly the world. ...
World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons—the atom bomb being the ultimate. ...
In the early 1950s executives at Volkswagen decided that it was necessary to produce an "image" car to satisfy the needs of demanding post-war automobile buyers. // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning...
Volkswagen contracted with German coach builder Karmann to build this car. Karmann in turn contacted the Italian firm Ghia for a sports car design. Ghia took an already made, but unused design (originally made for Chrysler) and modified it to fit on a slightly modified Beetle floorpan.
The body and nose of this elegant two door unibody coupe were hand crafted and significantly more expensive to produce than the strictly assembly line produced Beetle; this was reflected in the Karmann Ghia's higher price tag.
The design and prototype were well received by Volkswagen executives, and in August, 1955 the first Karmann Ghia was created in Osnabrück, Germany. Public reaction to the curvy Karmann Ghia was excellent, and over 10,000 were sold in the first year, exceeding Volkswagen's expectations. 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Osnabrück is a city in the Westphalian half of Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80km NNW of Dortmund, 45km NNW of Münster, and some 100km due West of Hanover. ...
Since the first Karmann Ghia's used the same 36hp engine as the Beetle, the car was not suitable as a true sports car; however the car's beautiful looks and "Beetle reliable" parts made up for this shortfall.
In 1958 a convertible version was introduced. 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The car was slightly redesigned for the 1960 model year. The most notable exterior changes were the car's front "nostril" grills (which were replaced with a wider design), the headlights (which were moved up the fender), and the rear tail-light lenses (which became taller and more rounded, sometimes referred to as "cats-eye" lenses). Cars made from 1955-1959 are referred to as "lowlights," due to the lower placement of the headlights, and are much sought-after by Ghia purists and collectors. 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1970 saw larger taillights with integrated reverse lights, as well as squarish wrap-around turn signals, versus the "bullet" style used on earlier cars. The taillights were revised again in 1972, becoming taller and adding integrated turn signals. 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...
1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ...
In 1974 the car was discontinued due mainly to increasing safety regulations and sluggish sales. 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...
Type 34 Ghia In 1962, Volkswagen introduced the Type 34 Karmann Ghia, based on their new Type 3 platform. The styling was much more squared-off, versus the curved appearance of the original Type 14 Ghia. It was not a success, and production ceased in 1969.Picture of Type 34 The Volkswagen Type 3 was introduced in 1961 by Volkswagen to diversify their product range beyond the Type 1 Beetle and the Type 2 Bus. The Type 3, officially the Volkswagen 1500, was designed to allow Volkswagen to make a more sophisticated car while maintaining much of the engineering from...
1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...
Rebirth of the Ghia When VW/Audi came out with the Audi TT, many VW enthusiasts likened the styling of the TT to that of the Ghia, and the TT has been analogous with the Ghia in much the same manner as the New Beetle has been with the Classic Beetle.
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