A Brief History of the Karmann Ghia's Beginning:

In 1948 during the post war era of Volkswagen, Heinz Nordhoff was selected to take over the reigns and run the fledgling company.  Since Germany was hungry for any type of reliable transportation, VW Beetles were easy to sell.   Nordhoff knew that this wouldn't last forever so he set about expanding his single line of Automobiles.   In 1949 the basic Beetle was modified by the coach building firms of Karmann and Hebmuller.  At Karmann the Beetle top was removed and a great looking 4 seater convertible was born.  From Hebmuller firm a somewhat more sportier version of the beetle was presented, but this time it was a 2 seater model.   Sadly only 700 Hebmuller convertibles were made due to a devastating fire and the companies inability to obtain refinancing.  Due to the demise of the Hebmuller 2 seater, the VW company was in need of a 'sportier model'.  Unbeknown to Heinz Nordhoff, the Karmann Coach builder along with the Italian design firm of Ghia, put together a stylish sports car based on a widened Beetle chassis using a stock Beetle drive train. 

    When it was presented to Heinz Nordhoff, he was so impressed he gave it his instant stamp of approval and the Karmann Ghia was born!   For the first two model years in 1956/57 only the coupe version was built but in September 1957, the exquisite Karmann Ghia Convertible as introduced to the public.   It was so well received that for the remaining 17 years of production the convertible was built side by side with the coupe.  From the 56 to the 74 model years there were 362,624 Coupes made whilst the number of Karmann Ghia convertibles was 79,326.

The Karmann Ghia is a favourite amongst car fanatics and we have the pleasure of presenting the retrim of this Coupe.  The car has had the body, paint and mechanical work done by Dandy Volks in Heart Street, Dandenong, Victoria, Australia.     Dandy Volks, as you may have guessed by the name, are the number 1 Volkswagen repair shop in the Country.  Please ring Max on (03) 9793-1337 with any queries you may have!