Vehicle Description
1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Convertible
The Karmann-Ghia started off as a show car Virgil Exner designed
for Chrysler, called the D'Elegance. Chrysler and the Italian coach
builder and design house Ghia had a partnership in the 1950s, the
result of which was a number of collaborative show and concept
cars. One of these, designed in 1952 by Exner and built by Ghia,
was known as the D'Elegance. Then came Volkswagen. VW had been
mildly interested in a sportier version, of the Beetle, but hadn't
been impressed with the ideas their longtime convertible-building
partner, Karmann, had come up with. So, Karmann reached out to Ghia
to see if they had any great ideas, and Ghia looked over to the
corner of their workshop and saw the forlorn D'Elegance and said
"Well, now that you mention it..." And the rest" as they say is
history!
For consignment, a very nice example of the VW Karmann Ghia
Convertible and 1 of just 2,909 built for 1972. All surfaces have
been attended to and the engine bay is very clean with a new engine
in 2009. A poor man's Porsche, that provides exactly the same
amount of thrill when you get behind the wheel! This beauty has
only 43,393 actual 3 owner miles.
Exterior
The closest thing you can get to a Porsche 356, and actually
handmade due to the body being made of entirely one piece. Yes,
save for the doors, all panels were shaped then welded together
then hand sanded down to the shape you see. This one is painted in
Willow Green and the door gaps are straight, however the remainder
of the car is just smooth curves. A dual 3 dimensional chrome spear
pinstripe is on just above the rockers and adds a nice highlight,
and even aligns with the bumpers for visual continuity. Nice
chromed accenting with the bumpers, badging, small grille openings,
and a dual lower trim strip, are all mirror like finished. Black
surrounds for the windows and glass are excellent and all clear. A
black canvas convertible top in very good condition complete with a
glass rear window. It moves up and down flawlessly and manually.
Steel drilled wheels are all around and are topped with VW badged
moon caps. Schnell! Schnell!
Interior
The interior is just beautiful with an original dash setup, black
dash front and a small black padded dash top is seen above, and is
also very nice, no cracks or fading. Round chrome bezel edged
gauges for the instrument cluster. Fronting this beautiful dash is
a black plastic rimmed steering wheel with the Wolfsberg castle
emblem in the center. A working Sapphire radio is in the center.
Black vinyl high back bucket seats are upfront, and a flip up and
down bench in the rear. These float in pristine black carpet and
are framed by nice black vinyl covered simplistic door panels and
rear side panels. A shout out to the (front) trunk liner which is
also new and has the trunk looking spiffy.
Drivetrain
As with any VW you need to pop the boot to see the power plant, so
we did! Here we were met with a very well-done insertion of a new
power plant in at 40,000 miles in 2009 at a cost of almost $4,000.
It's a 4-cylinder air cooled engine. No corrosion or rust, not even
much dust back here just clean all working with each other parts. A
new 1-barrel carburetor is feeding the 4 cylinders, and power goes
to a 4-speed manual transmission. A 3.76 rear axle ratio is noted
for this drivetrain.
Undercarriage
Still well intact with no rust is the unibody frame which uses the
floorpans and central panel along with some steel tubing as the
structure, and it is all solid. No rust just nicely painted black
steel. Various under the engine parts are oil free, looking much
like new. Independent suspension for the front, and independent
rear suspension provides the ride and handling. Disc brakes are
upfront, and drums are installed on the rear. Exhaust system is
short but in sweet condition. The undercarriage was cleaned and
coated with bedliner to insure the best in protection. The heat
exchangers are in excellent condition.
Drive-Ability
TV ads of the day shows a Ghia speeding down beach stating the VW
Karmann "This is the most economical sports car you can buy", then
in the end it tries to break through a paper barrier and fails,
with the announcer saying" its just not the most powerful". After a
quick start, this proved to be true, although it has snappy
acceleration for its size, shifts beautifully, and cruises fairly
quietly. A low to the ground sports car feel is exhilarating and
provides a positive experience overall.
A great example with a fine restoration holding up just
beautifully. Comes with the tool kit, jack, car cover and the
owner's manual. Shiny Willow Green paint, clean and
well-functioning mechanicals, and an original configuration clean
interior, a great example from 1972. Just ge�m�t�lich�keit as they
used to say...!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.