Type 14

by Classic Velocity in , ,

Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was the dream of designer and builder Wilhelm Karmann. He had built the Volkswagen beetle cabriolet, and wanted to design a unique and stylish body for the VW beetle chassis. Wilhelm and his son, also called Wilhelm, approached Heinz Nordhoff in 1950 about the idea of a cabriolet sports car on the beetle chassis, but reportedly did not get much interest. Volkswagen was producing all the beetles that they could make, and a new car with a questionable future didn't make much sense. Karmann persisted, and eventually Nordhoff agreed to allow designs to be submitted to Wolfsburg. They were rebuffed there as well. Refusing to accept defeat, Karmann eventually made an Italian connection which made all of the difference.

Luigi Segre was Director at Carozzeria Ghia. After listening to Karmann's idea at the Turin show, he arranged to get a VW beetle from a connection in France. And here is where the story starts to get a little bit mysterious and bizarre. The origin of the design of the Karmann Ghia is disputed in many circles even today, but it is clear that there were a number of connections which must have had some influence. Major design duties were handed to a relatively new designer at Ghia who is said to have introduced some novel rounded and swoopy lines. Then, the French connection, Charles LaDouche, was involved with the production of a car called the Coupe D'Elegance, which was being produced by Ghia, and which predates The Karmann discussions, but which has some resemblance to The final Karmann Ghia. Lastly, LaDouche was a Chrysler agent in France, and both he, and Luigi Segre had prior conversations and idea discussions with Virgil Exner in the US. Exner was head of exterior design for Chrysler, but was famous for the Studebaker Champion styling. Many believe that the car looks a lot like a mini Studebaker. The nose has a dose of Porsche with the nacelles and the nostrils. Lastly, there was a significant and perhaps unprecedented level of secrecy that was maintained around the project. Not just in keeping things from Volkswagen, as Ghia seem to have gone out of their way to keep Karmann away from Turin where the Coupe D'Elegance was being built. Parts of models and prototype cars were shipped around locations in Europe and hidden from notice while development was taking place.

In 1952, Wilheim senior died, but his son continued to bring the dream to fruition. After a lot of back and forth, and detail design by Karmann, the Coupe project was shown to Nordhoff in November 1953. He agreed to produce it, and the beetle chassis was widened and strengthened at the longitudinals to adapt to the new body style. This provided a very different interior than the beetle, and combined with a lower overall profile to accentuate the sports car styling. A front anti-roll bar improved handling, and the more powerful 1192 cc motor combined with a four speed synchromesh gearbox to provide some enhanced performance. The Ghia had a top speed of 77mph (compared to the Beetle's 66mph). The end result was that Volkswagen Type 143 was deemed to be the most beautiful Volkswagen ever produced. It was to be built at the Karmann factory in Osnabruck beginning in 1955. Because the Karmann factory did not have the large-scale mass production capabilities of the Volkswagen plant, many of the Karmann Ghia panels were in fact constructed from smaller component pieces and then put together. A number of interesting ideas such as the over-centered hinge, were employed as a result of working through production challenges.

Another twist developed at launch. Volkswagen was producing DKWs at full capacity, and had no place to store the new Ghia around the original launch date. The solution was to move the launch date forward, and ship cars directly to dealers. Brilliant ! Despite its looks and pretentions, the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was no sports car. The early reviews pointed that out, and sales were initially slow. However, to a customer moving up from a Beetle, the car was indeed a lot more sporting. Sales grew rapidly, and eventually out-stripped production by 1956. This was true even in the US, where there was little to no initial advertising. A cabriolet followed in 1957, and the car went on to great success in the US and of course in Europe, selling over 400,000 units.

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NYAS 2013

by Classic Velocity in , ,

The New York auto show is one of the big three annual auto shows in the country along with Los Angeles and Detroit. At these three shows, almost every manufacturer shows up, and many try to introduce something new. The New York show takes place on the verge of spring, in the hopes of enticing customers into showrooms and out onto the roads. Even with Winter still gripping the Northeast, it is worth the trip into the city to see what is coming to a dealer near you. It is particularly fun at classic velocity, to see the concept cars, and the ways in which the manufacturers are mining their past.

First, a couple of trends. Matte and Satin finishes are apparently the new thing to have on your supercar. Lamborghini, Mercedes, Audi (who may have started this trend), Porsche, Jaguar, all seem to have very high-end supercar models with these finishes. All I can say is that like caviar, it must be an acquired taste. The next is the significant decline of the electric vehicle, at least as evidenced at the show. This was all the rage a year or two ago, and this year much less so. The best evidence of this are the two areas set aside for the jeep experience, and the E experience. The jeep experience had a very long line all the time, while you could walk up and get right in a car at the E experience. To be fair, I must also note that almost every manufacturer now has a Hybrid offering in their lineup, so perhaps it is just that it has all transformed into the more mainstream Hybrid segment. The last trend of note was co-branding. It seemed like almost every manufacturer was offering models or treatments that were partnerships with other organizations. Marvel and DC comic characters were popular, there was a pin-striped NY Yankees Prius, a Hot Wheels Camaro, etc.

Returning to the concepts, my favorite of the show was probably the Subaru WRX concept. This car looked production ready, and featured impressive styling. The Hyundai HCD–14 concept was also an impressive vehicle from a styling perspective. This brand has really become competitive on the styling front with the top European manufacturers. I also really like BMW active touring concept. It looks like a three series wagon, but has roof features and a tailgate that are more reminiscent of an SUV or minivan. The Lexus concept took my prize for most bizarre, with the way that the front grill consumes the entire front of the car.

The compact car segment is a hotly contested space, which is a good thing to see. The offerings from Subaru, Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, and even BMW, continue to offer great packaging and features while keeping mileage relatively high, even in conventional internal combustion offerings. I made a point of sitting in all of them, and the space offered at least in the front of the passenger compartment was very impressive. They did not feel excessively cramped, and headroom was decent. The one area of the compacts that was not improved, was price. They are all creeping upwards. But not to worry, the subcompacts are now the size price of what compacts used to be.

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