page_title: Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Volkswagen Karmann Ghia / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Brazilian-made Volkswagen Karmann Ghia in a street of the neighborhood of Bela Vista, São Paulo City, Brazil.
context_page_description: The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is a sports car marketed in 2+2 coupe and 2+2 convertible body styles by Volkswagen. Internally designated the Type 14, the Karmann Ghia combined the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 with styling by Italy's Carrozzeria Ghia and hand-built bodywork by German coachbuilding house Karmann.
  For its final model year, the vestigial rear seat was discontinued for North American models, as it lacked provisions for seat belts; all Karmann Ghias for 1974 were marketed strictly as two-seaters. From 1962-1969, Volkswagen marketed the Type 34, based on the Type 3 platform, featuring angular bodywork and mechanicals from said platform.
  More than 445,000 Karmann Ghias were produced in Germany over the car's production life, not including the Type 34 variant. Volkswagen do Brasil produced 41,600 Type 34s in Brazil for South America between 1962 and 1975.
  Long noted for its exterior styling, the Karmann Ghia was designed with input from numerous individuals at Carrozzeria Ghia and was strongly influenced by Virgil Exner's work, though all of its designers passed without a definitive individual styling attribution.
context_section_description: The design and prototype were well received by Volkswagen executives, and the Type 14 debuted at the October 1953 Paris Auto 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 were sold in the first year.
  In contrast to the Beetle's machine-welded body with bolt-on fenders, the Karmann Ghia's body panels were butt-welded, hand-shaped, and smoothed with English pewter in a time-consuming process commensurate with higher-end manufacturers, resulting in the Karmann Ghia's higher price.
  The Type 14 was marketed as a practical and stylish 2+2 rather than as a true sports car. As they shared engines, the Type 14's engine displacement grew concurrently with the Type 1 (Beetle), ultimately arriving at a displacement of 1584 cc, producing 61 PS (45 kW; 60 hp).
  Production doubled soon after the Karmann Ghia's introduction, becoming the car most imported into the U.S.
  In August 1957, Volkswagen introduced a convertible version of the Karmann Ghia. Exterior changes in 1961 included wider and finned front grilles, taller and more rounded rear taillights and headlights relocated to a higher position – with previous models and their lower headlight placement called lowlights. The Italian designer Sergio Sartorelli, designer of Type 34, oversaw the various restylings of Type 14.
  In 1970, larger taillights integrated the reversing lights and larger wrap-around turn signals. Still larger and wider taillights increased side visibility. In 1972, large square-section bumpers replaced the smooth round originals, and tail lights were again enlarged. For the USA model only, 1973 modifications mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) included energy-absorbing bumpers. A carpeted package shelf replaced the rear seat.
  In late 1974 the car was superseded by the Golf-based Scirocco.
caption: Brazilian-built Karmann Ghia on a street in São Paulo
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