A
superb and rare photo of the impressive and very neatly finished interior and
dashboard of the 1957 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia as photographed for the
publicity campaign that Volkswagen launched for the new model year 1957.
The
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was
made from 1955 to 1974 by Volkswagen in coupe and convertible bodystyles —
combining the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1, evocative styling by the
Italian carrozzeria Ghia, and hand-built bodywork by German coach-builder
Karmann. The combination proved instantly successful for VW; production doubled
soon after its introduction, and the Type 14 became the most imported car in
the U.S. American industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague selected the Type 14
for his list of the world's most beautifully designed products. The Karmann
Ghia was internally designated the Type 14. Volkswagen later introduced a
variant in 1961, the Type 34 — featuring a less curvacious bodywork and based
on the newly introduced Type 3 platform. Over 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 Type 14
debuted at the October 1953 Paris Auto Show as a styling concept created for
Ghia by Luigi Segre. In the early 1950s, Volkswagen was producing small, fuel
efficient, reliable automobiles (like the Type 1). As the world recovered from
World War II, consumers began to demand more stylish and elegant vehicles.
Executives at Volkswagen decided to produce an "image" car for
post-war buyers. The Type 14, VW's venture into the sports car market, was
created in 1956. While it had limited power for a sports car, its stylish looks
and reasonable price made sales strong. Volkswagen contracted with German
coachbuilder Karmann to build this car. Karmann in turn contracted the Italian
firm Ghia for a sports car design. Ghia took an existing, but unused, design
(originally intended for Chrysler or Studebaker) and modified it to fit a
slightly modified Beetle floorpan which had been widened some 12 inches (300
mm). The body and nose of
the Type 14 were handcrafted and significantly more expensive to produce than
the assembly line-produced Beetle, which was reflected in the Type 14's higher
price. Instead of fenders bolted and pre-welded together, as with the Beetle,
body panels were butt-welded and hand-shaped and smoothed with English pewter
in a time-consuming and expensive process. At the time the Type 14 was built,
only the manufacturers of the finest cars used similar methods. The design and
prototype were well received by Volkswagen executives, and in August 1955 the
first Type 14 was manufactured in Osnabrück, Germany. Public reaction to the curvy Type 14 was excellent, and over 10,000
were sold in the first year, exceeding Volkswagen's expectations. Since all
Type 14s used the same Volkswagen air cooled engine as the Beetle, the car was
not suitable as a true sports car, but the car's styling and "Beetle reliable"
parts compensated for this shortfall. The Type 14 also shared engine
development with the Beetle as the Type 1 engine grew larger over time, finally
arriving at an engine displacement of 1584 cc which produced about
60 horsepower (45 kW). In August 1957, a
cabriolet (convertible) version was introduced. Although often called in USA
the "1958 model" by some, the Detroit
automakers' trend of calling models manufactured in August of a year as the
next year's model was not adopted by Germany
until at least 1965. In August 1964, the
Vehicle Identification Number on VWs started showing the last digit of the year
as the 3rd digit of the VIN. As with other automobiles, multiple changes were
made to VW models during the model years, including early Type 14s. Notable
exterior changes in 1961 included the car's new wider, finned front grilles,
raised headlight relocation, and rear taillight lenses which became taller and
more rounded. Cars made from 1955 to 1959 are referred to as
"lowlights", due to the lower placement of the headlights. The
Italian designer Sergio Sartorelli, designer of Type 34, took part to the
various restyling of Type 14, until he worked for Ghia. In 1970 larger tail
lights integrated the reverse lights and larger wrap-around turn signals in contrast
to the earlier "bullet" style lights. VW models of this era have
earned the slang nickname fat chicks. Larger and wider taillights in 1972
increased side visibility. For the USA
model only, NHTSA mandated 1973 modifications included larger energy-absorbing
bumpers. Also, there was the provision of a package shelf in lieu of the modest
rear seat. In late 1974, the car was replaced by the Golf ("Rabbit"
in USA)-based Volkswagen Scirocco. In 1961, Volkswagen introduced the VW 1500
Karmann Ghia Coupé, or Type 34, based on its new Type 3 platform, featuring
Volkswagen's new 1500 engine, and styling by Italian engineer Sergio
Sartorelli. Due to model confusion with the Type 14 1500 introduced in 1967,
the Type 34 was known variously as the "Der Große Karmann" (the big
Karmann) in Germany, "Razor's Edge Ghia" in the United Kingdom, or "European Ghia" (or "Type 3 Ghia" among
enthusiasts) in the United
States.
An electrically operated sliding steel sunroof was optional in 1963. The
styling offered more interior and cargo room than the original Karmann Ghia.
Until it was replaced by the VW-Porsche 914, it was the most expensive and
luxurious passenger car VW manufactured in the 1960s – back then you could have
purchased two basic Beetles for the price of one Type 34 in
many markets. The comparatively high price meant it never generated high
demand, and only 42,505 (plus 17 prototype convertibles) were built over the
car's entire production life between 1962 and 1969 (roughly 5,000 a
year). Today, the Type 34 is considered a semi-rare collectible. Although the
Type 34 was available in most countries, it was not offered officially in the USA
– VW's largest and most important export market – another reason for its low
sales numbers. Many still made their way to the USA
(most via Canada), and the USA has the largest number of known Type 34s left in the world (400 of the
total 1,500 to 2,000 or so remaining). Like its Type 14 brother, the Type 34
was styled by the Italian design studio Ghia. There are some similar styling
influences, but the Type 14 Ghia looks very different from the Type 34. The
chassis is also a major difference between the cars: the Type 14 shares its
chassis with a Beetle, whereas the Type 34 body is mounted on the Type 3
chassis and drive train (the same as in a Squareback/Notchback/Fastback) – all
distinguished by a flattened "pancake" engine that provides a front
and rear boot. The Type 34 is consequently mechanically the same as other Type
3s. All bodywork, interior, glass, bumpers, and most of the lenses are unique
to the Type 34. The Wilhelm Karmann factory assembly line which assembled the
Type 34 also produced the Porsche 914 — the Type 34's replacement. As an alternative
to the Type 34 Karmann-Ghia coupé, which Volkswagen had introduced to Europe in 1961, Karmann-Ghia
do Brasil looked to Ghia in Turin for a reworked version of the Type 14 at the end of the 1960s. At the
time Ghia employed Giorgetto Giugiaro, the famous Italian designer and he was
set to work on the new Brazilian Karmann Ghia. The result was the Volkswagen
Karmann Ghia TC (Touring Coupé), internally known as the Type 145, which was
introduced in 1970. This model looked much like an Italian impression of a
Porsche 911 and was a roomy 2+2 coupe with a modern and comfortable interior. Underneath
it was similar to the Type 14 though actually the platform of the Volkswagen
Variant was used rather than that of the Volkswagen Beetle. The main difference
was the engine: the Type 145 TC was fitted with the 1584 cc flat-four aircooled
boxer unit from the Type 3 instead of the 1192 cc unit of the Type 14. The car
had 65 hp @ 4600 rpm and a top speed of 86 mph, compared to the 34 hp and 72 mph of the Type 14. 18,119 TC models were produced during its production
run from 1970 till 1976. It was only offered in South America and wasn't exported off
the continent. There is a prototype which is part of the factory museum
collection of Karmann in Osnabrück, Germany.
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can always contact us for more Volkswagen and other automotive photos!
This
is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of
Volkswagen ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance
to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format
of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 cm
x 30
cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.