Karmann Ghia

          In the early 1950s Volkswagen had the idea of making a sporty version of their very popular Beetle. But they also knew that they needed help. So they first turned to Italy and famed design house Ghia whose Luigi Serge styled a sporty 2+2 coupe and convertible. Next they turned to German coachbuilder Karmann to hand make the exterior. To honor this three way partnership they dubbed the product the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.
          While still basically a Beetle underneath, the Italian styling and German body presented a car that was faster and sleeker. Though it still used the same engine as the Bug (ranging from the initial 1200cc up to the 1600 cc flat four), the Karmann Ghia seemed zippier. A lot of that had to do with the low profile the car presented.
          Nearly a half million of these cars were produced between 1955 and 1974 and there were a handful on display at the recent 27th Annual Volkswagen and Porsche Reunion.