Oxford Diecast 76KG001 Henna Red and Pearl White VW Karmann Ghia

An iconic VW classic car from the 1960s in 1:76, the Karmann Ghia with its elegant sloping styling. In real life, the car made its debut in 1953 with a launch in both Frankfurt and  Paris.  The Karmann Ghia was in production from 1955 until 1974 when over 445,000 were built first at the Ghia Works and then at the VW Osnabru̎ck plant in West Germany. During all that time, it remained virtually unchanged in design.  It was the result of a joint collaboration between Germany’s Wilhelm Karmann and Luigi Segre and his colleagues of the Italian Carrozzeria Ghia Company. The new prototype emerged in 1953, based on the existing VW Beetle chassis. Karmann loved the design which he took to VW with a view to production. The Karmann Ghia was available as either a 2-door 2+2 convertible or 2-door coupé sports car, although towards the end of its production life it became purely a two-seater model.

A 2-door coupé from 1964, registered DJH 333B with the colour scheme comprising of a bright red body with pearl white masked roof and interior oyster white seating and cream steering wheel. The Volkswagen name and Karmann Ghia ‘signature’ feature in silver across the rear of the car and the silver finish is carried through to the wheels and all other external trim. Engine size ranged from a 1200 cc to top of the rage 1600 cc flat-4.

The Karmann  Ghia was marketed as a practical and stylish 2+2 rather than a true sports car.  The detail that went into its production included butt-ended body panels, hand-shaped and smoothed with English pewter, a labour intensive process which – like other high end manufactured cars – was reflected in the price – around $2250 US dollars at the time. In today’s market you may be able to pick one up for around £26,000 PLUS!