The Karmann Ghia Was Once VW’sFlagship, and It Still Deserves Fanfare

The 1950s saw opportunity knocking on doors worldwide for Volkswagen, which had launched the Type 1 Käfer (Beetle) and Type 2 Kombi (Microbus) toward the end of the previous decade. With both models enthusiastically embraced by the market, it was time for the marque to introduce a flagship to the VW product lineup. But no amount of finessing the Beetle—the automotive equivalent of a Birkenstock sandal—would turn VW’s ugly duckling into a swan. What was needed was a luxurious new model, and the Karmann Ghia was that car.

The collaborative concept was envisioned by Luigi Segre, owner of Italian styling studio Carrozzeria Ghia, and Wilhelm Karmann, whose coachbuilding firm was already manufacturing Beetle convertible bodies. Volkswagen approved the prototype, and debuted the first Type 14 at the Paris and Frankfurt auto shows in 1955, bringing the model to the U.S. later that year. The successful design soldiered on for two decades, with 445,000 examples made through 1975.

America was the biggest market for the attractive Karmann Ghia, which was also offered as a convertible starting in 1957 and continuing through to the end of production. As with other good car designs that endured well beyond their 1960s-era prime, the Type 14 eventually became encumbered by massive rubber bumpers and oversized taillamps by 1973, though even these later models retain their charm. While the Type 14 was technically a 2+2, its snug interior—like that of the Porsche 911—was only ever suitable for two occupants.

Unlike the Volkswagen floorpan and mechanicals of the Beetle, on which the Type 14 was based, the bodies were a premium effort from coachbuilder Karmann, maker of some Porsche 356 and 911/912 bodies as well. In period, the Karmann Ghia was damned with faint praise as the “poor man’s Porsche,” a moniker it didn’t deserve, and in fact, some astute observers regard it as a more sophisticated aesthetic exercise than the bathtub-derived 356. Thankfully, most garages will accommodate both, as these are diminutive vehicles when compared to any American iron of the era.

Because power from air-cooled, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engines of the era could be charitably described as adequate, a Karmann Ghia is best enjoyed by means of leisurely drives on days when you have plenty of downtime. Early cars were powered by a 1.2-liter, 34 hp engine, and by 1966, a 1.6-liter mill with about 60 hp got the job done, thanks to the car’s relatively light weight of under 2,000 pounds. A four-speed manual gearbox was standard.

Volkswagen didn’t stand still during the Type 14’s heyday, and conjured an even more exclusive model in 1962—the Type 34—to wear VW’s halo. About 42,000 were made through 1969, and while it never came to America, many examples have traveled stateside in ensuing decades. It was built on the Type 3 floorpan, offering greater luggage capacity front and rear. The Type 34, offered only as a coupe, was the most exclusive and costly VW model, and rightly so, as it was essentially a hand-built car. A third model, designed by Giorgetto Giugaro when he was at Ghia, was built for the South American market. Called the Karmann Ghia TC, it is a fastback design based on the Type 3 that, while appealing, bears no visual relationship to the Type 14 or Type 34.

The rust mantra is wisely chanted when searching for a Karmann Ghia, and restoring one is as complicated as restoring any Porsche 356 from the period. Buy the best, which means spending about $17,000 for an example in good condition, or almost $50,000 for a lawn-queen. Convertibles are worth approximately 30 percent more, and a concours example might fetch $90,000. Type 34 models in good condition are about $35,000, while values of the TC are what anyone who encounters and wants one will pay.

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With Robert Redford’s recent passing, it’s opportune to recall that the actor drove a 1967 Karmann Ghia convertible in the 1992 film Sneakers. More recently, the 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood featured a 1968 convertible driven by actor Brad Pitt. Evidently, it’s not just Aston Martins, Mustangs, and Ferraris that steal hearts. A good Karmann Ghia is hard to beat.

Click here for more photos of this 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Coupe.