The car came to Madeira in that year. It was the second cabriolet of this model in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, with the first no longer existing today. It was acquired by the current owner around 40 years ago, having carried out a lot of restoration work to keep it as immaculate as it is today. The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia are a family of three overlapping VW sports model series. They combined the chassis and mechanics of the Type 1/Beetle or Type 3, with styling by Italy's Carrozzeria Ghia and hand-built bodywork by German coachbuilder Karmann. More than 445,000 Karmann Ghias were produced in Germany during the car's production life, not including the Type 34 variant. Long known for its exterior styling, the Karmann Ghia was designed in collaboration with several people at Carrozzeria Ghia and was heavily influenced by the work of Virgil Exner, although no definitive individual styling by the designers was evident . Three companies came together in the history of the Karmann Ghia. Luigi Segre was committed to expanding Carrozzeria Ghia's international reputation. And Wilhelm Karmann had taken over his family's coachbuilding business and was eager to increase his VW model building contracts. Wilhelm Karmann and Luigi Segre met at international car shows and, after an initial discussion prompted by Wilhelm Karmann, Segre secretly obtained a Beetle to use as the basis for a prototype. Ghia customized its platform, designed the initial prototype, and built the model in 5 months. Segre secretly presented the model to Wilhelm Karmann a year after the initial discussion, in late 1953, in Paris, at the Societé France Motors factories. When Wilhelm Karmann saw the coupe, Karmann said, "I'd like to build that!" As head of Ghia, Segre uniquely directed the project through the conception and prototyping, delivering a viable design that Willhelm Karmann wanted and could effectively build the design that Wilhelm Karmann, in turn, would present to VW. After VW approved the design in November 1953, the Karmann Ghia debuted at the 1955 Paris and Frankfurt motor shows and at the Kasino Hotel in Westfalia, Germany, on July 14, 1955, and went into production, first in Ghia and then in Osnabrück, finally reaching a production of over 445,000, running for 19 years practically unchanged. The design and prototype were well received by VW executives and the Type 14 debuted at the October 1953 Paris Motor Show as a styling concept "by Ghia". In August 1955, the first Type 14 was manufactured in Osnabrück, Germany. Public reaction to the Type 14 exceeded expectations and more than 10,000 units were sold in the first year. In contrast to the Beetle's machine-welded bodywork, with bolt-on bumpers, the Karmann Ghia's body panels were butt-welded, hand-shaped and smoothed with English tin, in a time-consuming process commensurate with high-end manufacturers, resulting in the highest price of Karmann Ghia. The Type 14 was marketed as a practical and stylish 2+2 and not as a true sports car. As they shared engines, the Type 14's engine capacity grew simultaneously with that of the Type 1 (Beetle), finally reaching 1,584 cc, producing 61 PS (45 kW; 60 PS). At the end of 1974, the car was replaced by the Scirocco, based on the VW Golf.
Datasheet Year: 1954 Brand: VW Model: Type-1 Cabriolet Country: Germany Number plate: BH-21-79 Engine: 1.200 cc Gearbox: 4