1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia – Auction Car of the Week
January 19, 2025
Every car man (see what we did there?) and indeed car woman, loves a Beetle right? Enduringly popular and perennially appealing, VW’s “people’s car” is a stalwart of the classic scene and has been since time immemorial. From completely restored and full on concours examples, to slammed street machines and modern resto mods, there’s a Bug for every taste, and indeed budget, but what if you fancied those tried and tested, characterful air-cooled mechanicals but in something a little more sleek? Something with a touch more elan? Well, you get yourself a Karmann Ghia of course.
The product of three different companies, the Karmann Ghia is definitely greater than the sum of its parts as a result because the trio in question consists of Italian design and coach-building legends Carrozzeria Ghia, German coach-building house Karmann and of course, Volkswagen. The offspring of said ménage à trois was a beautifully styled, reliable and incredibly usable car that remains a rather handsome and practical classic today. It’s not surprising really when you think about it. A car that’s styled by Italians and built by Germans was always going to be a winning combination. It was a pretty simple idea: take the dependable underpinnings of the Beetle and plonk a svelte, sculpted body on top. Chicken dinners all round.
Produced for a whole 20 years between 1955 and 1975, the Karmann Ghia was only the second passenger car ever produced by VW after the Beetle. Initially only available as a 2+2 rear-wheel drive coupé with a flat-four, 1192cc air cooled engine producing around 34bhp, a convertible was added to the range two years later, with various other aesthetic amendments and mechanical updates being added over the years, including front disc brakes and 12V electrics in 1966. A range of larger capacity engines were also offered over the car’s 19 year production run making later cars a touch easier to live with than those earlier models.
And that’s exactly what we have here – a wholly original, matching numbers, late model ’74 example, complete with 1,584cc air cooled four-pot mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. And the sugar and spice in this particular recipe? It’s covered just 9,876 miles, making this incredible Karmann Ghia arguably one of, if not the lowest, mileage example of Volkswagen’s pretty coupé available in Europe. If you could find another example in similar condition with under 10K on the clock we’d certainly be surprised.
This especially low figure is fully ratified by the car’s gargantuan history file, right down to the dealer key tags, amassed by its five former keepers. Originally a USA car this left-hand drive Karmann was imported into the UK in 2004, with its first British owner being the frontman for one of the biggest bands this fair isle has ever produced. We’ll let you try and guess which one though. The current owner, who is involved in Formula One, has owned it since 2006, so if it’s provenance you’re after, this is certainly the car for you.
The car may be over 50 years old but you wouldn’t think it looking at the thing, but then with such limited use it hasn’t really had the opportunity to pick up any real wear or tear, keeping it well and truly forever young. Yes there are a few marks here and there due to the car’s unrestored originality but overall it’s an incredibly straight, solid and rot-free example, aided no doubt by the Zeibart rustproofing applied early on in the car’s life.
The period appropriate brown vinyl interior perfectly compliments the yellow bodywork and while there is some patina, it’s all in keeping with the car’s age and noteworthy originality. The fact remains that this is a remarkably well-preserved piece of VW history, and with no advisories on its last MOT, you can be safe in the knowledge that this wonderful example is ready to keep moving.
You can take it or leave it but the two big draws here, for us at least, are the car’s ridiculously low mileage and its former famous owner, both of which lend a certain degree of desirability to an already pretty special example. Combine that with a healthy support network and a thriving scene and this classic Karmann makes a lot of sense, and we can think of no reason why you shouldn’t at least consider it. If not there are plenty more Volkswagen’s to choose from right here on Car & Classic.
