After the second World War and into the 1960s, as prosperity increased with the car-buying public, the demand rose for better, more elegant and entertaining vehicles. Up until this time, most manufacturers concentrated on rather bland and functional cars. Volkswagen, of course, produced the Beetle and a Microbus.
Looking for a new "image" car, Volkswagen contracted with Karmann, one of Germany's oldest coachbuilding firms, to build such a vehicle. Karmann, in need of a design, approached the famed Italian styling house Carrozzeria Ghia. Before this approach was made one of the main overseas clients of Ghia had been Chrysler, which contracted (for around 20 years in total) to build a series of dream- or show-car exhibits. Very few of these dream cars reached production, and one car they did not produce evolved into the Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia.
By 1953, Ghia's sole owner was Luigi Serge, who is credited with his staff for the design of the Karmann-Ghia. Influenced very heavily by Virgil M. Exner's Chrysler d'Elegance of 1952, Serge simply scaled down the d'Elegance to fit the VW chassis and gave it a new round nose, which provided ample luggage space.
VW and Karmann were entranced by the prototype, and the car went into production in 1954. The 2+2 coupe was a great success, and 444,300 of these legendary vehicles were produced between 1954 and 1973.
This car was first registered on April 4, 1964, on Torino plate number TO6 19 521, to Giuseppe Rossatto, a resident in San Mauro. It remained in the same ownership until May 1980, when it was sold to Fernando Bassini, also of Torino. Remaining in Torino, it sold again in November 1982 to Alberto Grassoti, who in turn sold it to Silviana Maonolino in July 1983. Around one month later the car was chosen and acquired by Carrozzeria Ghia to become an exhibit in its heritage museum collection. Following a restoration by Ghia, this car has been a static display and is now being sold by the parent company of Ghia-Ford Motor Company-following the closure of the Ghia facilities within the past year.
Overall, this car presents very well but has been in storage for a long time. The interior appears in as-new condition and has probably not been sat in since restoration. It retains all of its original instruments and correct badges on the front and rear. Owing to a long period of inactivity, we do recommend careful recommissioning prior to road use.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1964 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia |
| Years Produced: | 1954-1973 |
| Number Produced: | 444,300 |
| Original List Price: | $2,295 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $150 |
| Distributor Caps: | $14 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Plate in luggage area |
| Engine Number Location: | Stamped into crankcase |
| Club Info: | The Karmann Ghia Club of North America, 4200 Park Blvd, #151, Oakland, CA 94602 |
| Website: | http://karmannghia.org |
| Alternatives: | Opel GT, Sunbeam Rapier hardtop, Borgward Isabella coupe |
| Investment Grade: | C |
This car sold for $8,247, including buyer’s premium, at Christie’s Retromobile auction in Paris, held February 8, 2003.
For those of you who have been waiting for a collector market price breakout on your Karmann-Ghias: Stop holding your breath. If this coupe couldn’t crack into five figures, I don’t know which one will.
Christie’s officials were quite enthusiastic about this car’s pre-auction chances of topping $20,000, but nice as it was, 20 big ones is well into Porsche territory, and this VW isn’t remotely a Porsche except for having a rear-mounted air-cooled engine and coming from Germany.
Make no mistake-this was an extremely nice automobile, maybe the best K-G extant in terms of low mileage, with 2,839 kilometers (about 1,900 miles) from new. The interior, as noted in the catalog, was flawless, as were the rest of the cosmetics, although the bland exterior color may have subtracted from its eye appeal.
The fact that it had been museum-stored for many years was actually in its favor as far as cosmetic preservation goes, but it does imply that the brake system and possibly the electrics may need attention before the car is road-ready once again. Still, at the purchase price, there’s plenty of room for waking it up properly and safely, particularly with the low cost of VW parts factored in.
Another big plus for this car was the total lack of rust, rot or evidence of previous repair of these ills which K-Gs are quite prone to catching.
Would it have made a difference if the car has been a convertible instead? Of course. A drop-top would have given it more collector appeal, and just maybe it could have nudged that $20,000 figure, or at least covered the low estimate of $16,000.
So, what do we have here? On the plus side, a car with full provenance from day one and museum credentials for nearly 20 years. Refurbishment by Ghia itself. Extremely low mileage and super-clean inside and out. On the debit side, a car whose present mechanical condition is unknown despite the very low mileage. A hardtop instead of a convertible. Unexciting color. Reliable though pedestrian underpinnings (that are cheap to repair and maintain). A common Karmann-nothing exceptional save for its condition.
And, as usual, when the hammer fell, the market had voted with its checkbook, telling FoMoCo that this very nice K-G was worth about half its low estimate. Under the circumstances, I would call this a bargain in every respect, even if the price isn’t what K-G fanatics were hoping for. And the eternal question with any low-miles car needs to be restated here: Does the new owner drive the car and, with each passing mile, turn it further into “just another car,” or does he preserve it and keep it as a museum piece? Personally, as the value is so low to begin with, I hope we see this car out on the road, even if only being driven to classic VW meets.-Dave Brownell
(Historic and descriptive information courtesy of Christie’s.)