The History of Karmann Ghia

Dateline: 12/27/97

 In 1901 young man named Wilhelm Karmann bought out a coach-building firm named Klases, and renamed it Karmann. Car body manufacturing took off in 1902 and soon production was converted entirely to motor bodies. Karmann bodies were built by covering a wooden framework with sheet metal. By World War I, Karmann was making car bodies for Opel, Minerva, and FN. A great number of these were convertibles. Orders slowed down during the war but by 1921, a large order was received from the AGA motor company, which put the Karmann plant back in business. Throughout the 1920s the company became more successful as each year passed.

The Great Depression of 1929 took its toll on Karmann, but the company was saved by a business deal with the Adler motor company. Adler convertibles of this period were renowned for their leak-proof roofs. In 1931, Karmann began building Model A convertibles for Ford.

By World War II the plant employed over 600 people. Unfortunately, this plant was totally destroyed by allied bombing. A new plant was set up at Wolfsburg and made everything from stoves to V1 flying bombs.

After the war, the British occupied what was left of the plant for use as a repair station. Rebuilding was slow, and the demand for motor vehicles was almost non-existent. Tools, dies and body sections for utility vehicles became the company’s work until Volkswagen entered the picture in 1948.

In 1948 the Hebmüller and Karmann companies were each contacted by Volkswagen to build open top cars based on the Beetle. Hebmüller was to make a two seater and Karmann a four seat version. Volkswagen approved both prototypes and ordered 2000 Hebmüllers and 1000 Karmann cabriolets. The Hebmüller was expected to be the bigger seller but, a fire destroyed the Hebmüller factory only a month after production began in 1949. Only about 700 cars were ever. At least a dozen Hebmüllers were known to have been completed by Karmann after Hebmüller finally went bankrupt in 1952.

Production of the Karmann VW convertible began in September 1949 on the brand new "export" Beetle chassis. 10,000 were produced by August, 1950. The Karmann Beetle cabriolet used the chassis, nose section, fenders, and front and rear lids supplied by Wolfsburg from the Beetle parts bin, with the rest of the body being either fabricated by Karmann or modified by them. The cars were largely hand made and no two were ever quite the same.

The Beetle cabriolet was more popular than the sedan and was always a "de-luxe" model with a more powerful engine. About 330,000 were made before the model was discontinued in 1980. Production figures makes the Karmann Cabriolet the biggest selling convertible car ever.

Wilhelm Karmann died in 1952 at the age of 88 and was succeeded by his son, Wilhelm Jr. The younger Karmann was good friends with a man named Luigi Segre who was owner and designed of Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin. Volkswagen had earlier asked Karmann to design a sports car on the Beetle chassis, but had rejected all of the prototypes shown to them. Wilhelm had mentioned this to Segre, who had some ideas of his own. Without the knowledge of either Karmann or Volkswagen, Segre had designed some drawings of a new Beetle with a new design. These drawings were made into a prototype which was shown to Wilhelm Karmann in 1953. Karmann arranged for Volkswagon to inspect the car. The company was impressed, and production soon began. By the September 1961, Frankfurt Auto Show, which was the premier of the entire VW 1500 series, Carrozzeria Ghia had the final production model ready and on display. The show featured the prototype Cabriolet as well. The Karmann Ghia had merged.

During the initial period of Karmann Ghia production, the company did not have a press large enough to bend the sections for the Ghia body. The assembly had to be hand welded from many smaller pieces.

The automotive public fell in love with the beautiful design and hand crafted workmanship. The power was adequate and the suspension was good for the era. These two factors combined with the Karmann Ghia's looks made for a fairly good selling car, totaling over 10,000 the first year. When the convertible came out in 1958, sales climbed to around 18,000 cars per year. Sales climbed steadily until the late 1960s when they peaked at 33,000 cars a year.

In 1958 the Karmann Ghia was re-shaped and tail lights were enlarged. The headlights were also raised slightly, and right hand drive models were introduced. The car received chassis and engine improvements in line with the Beetle until 1975, looking little different to the 1958 version. 283,000 coupes and 81,000 cabriolets were built.

A Karmann Ghia version called the Type III was built in 1961. The model evolved alongside the other Type III models until 1969, when it became the first model ever dropped from the VW line. Only 42,000 were ever made. The Porsche/VW 914 took the place of the Type III Ghia on the line at Karmann.

In 1960, Karmann established a factory in Brasil. At first assembling the Type 1 Ghia coupe from CKD kits sent from Germany, this plant later produced models of their own design. These were known as TC Karmann Ghias. The Karmann Ghia was last produced in 1974 to make way for the new VW Scirocco. Only 365,912 coupes and 79,326 convertibles were produced which make the Karmann Ghia a fairly rare car considering it was produced for nearly 20 years.

The VW Type 34 Karmann Ghia, the flagship of the VW 1500 series, was the only VW ever available with built-in fog lamps and an electric steel-sliding sunroof. While it was never exported to the US, there are over 300 registered here. Production of the Type 34 Karmann Ghia began in March 1962 at the Karmann factory; and ceased in July 1969, after a total of 42,510 coupes were completed. The current value of a restored Type 34 ranges in value from $4000-$7000.

In 1970, the Ghia company became part of the Ford empire and began producing the Golf and the Scirroco.

Today, the Karmann Ghia is a sought after air-cooled Volkswagen. Appraised values of coupes typically run from $3,000 - $6,000 and $7,000 - $10,000 for convertibles. Most parts are still readily available. The biggest drawback to restoring a Ghia is that they tend to rust more than other Volkswagens due to their unibody construction and the fact that they were hand built. Luckily, there are plenty of after market body parts available and when restored, they can look just as good or better than the original.