14 july 1955 Kasino Hotel Georgsmarienhutte

[aerosilver]

[John Moxon]

[KGCoupe]

[GHIA]

I find more photos of Karmann of 55 (Not restored) with the script than without. I always thought that the script had arrived between October and December 55
Maybe the provision of decklid scripts by the manufacturer, wasn't regular and that karmann equipped only a few cars with the decklid script ??????
Still an enigma. We will never be the truth I think

I found also in my archives a video showing the karmann Ghia during a motor show of 1955

[GHIA]

News paper 15 july 1955

[Burman]

Wow.. that newspaper.. so cool.
About the script being there or not 1955.
Reading the first brochures from 1955 the don't
seem to mention the name Karmann Ghia at all.. or?
In Sweden for an example the car was presentet
as the New Volkswagen Kupé in the sales brochures in 1955.
The name "Karmann Ghia" doesn't appear until 1956.

[John Moxon]

[aerosilver]

One of the pictures above on a front cover…

Who wants to translate?

[GHIA]

The picture on the front cover is the same as the one I posted on the first page. This picture was also used in 1960 in the karmann post magazine

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/karmannpost/1960_apr_jun.jpg

[Burman]

This is way the Karmann Ghia was exposed to the dealers in Sweden 1955.
The Volkswagen kupé.
You have to admit it seems they weren't that sure about the name at the swedish dealers
Yes, they do refer to the Karmann-Ghia-Coupé or even "Das Ghia-Karmann-Coupé" in the brochures from 1955 but the name "Karmann Ghia from Volkswagen" or the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is never mentioned.
And I don't see any signwriting on the enginelids in the brochures from 55
either. Neither the logotype itself on the front cover for example.
To me it's a little bit blury... thats all J

[aerosilver]

[GHIA]

The stylised script seems to appear in july /September 57 only on the brochure (see Owner's Manual), when to the other brochure (The one that russ posted) difficult for me to put a date (57 ?????), because no indication on it
Gute Fahrt july 1957

I noticed that the first brochure are stamped WILHELM KARMANN GMBH OSNABRÜCK While the brochures later (1957) are stamped VOLKSWAGENWERK GMBH WOLFSBURG.
It looks like Volkswagen wanted to rectify something, and sell the KARMANN GHIA as a VOLKSWAGEN production car and not the firm KARMANN.


Burman indeed the vehicle is presented as the KARMANN GHIA coupe (with or without the mention vw chassis) at the beginning and later as VOLKSWAGEN KARMAN GHIA.
Before 1957 price list with indication KARMANN GHIA coupe on VW chassis

Price list 1 january 1957 with indication VOLKSWAGEN KARMAN GHIA

Another thing that I find strange, it doesn't seem to have the presence of VOLKSWAGEN, to the presentation of the karmann to the press on July 14, 1955. And yet, the cars have the VW badge on the nose......

[GHIA]

Another picture from Hobby magazine 9/55

[Rome]

"Hobby" was a German magazine similar to the US "Popular Mechanics", though with less detailed content than PM. I have a copy from the early '70's with WW2-era VWs.

Note that the center paragraph on the right page mentions that the front seats are height-adjustable (Hoehe... verstellbar), as well as the backrest inclination (Neigung). Was the variable height feature a mistake of the reporter, or were the very first Ghias truly equipped with a height mechanism that was soon dropped in production? Or was this in reference to the seat track "ramp" design on which the seat rises the more it is moved forward?

[aerosilver]

Nice colour shot of one of the Gazelle beige cars from the launch.
(Same woman/same outfit,sequential numberplate)

[otahuhu]

[GHIA]

[GHIA]

Another photo, with Chritiane without her glasses

[aerosilver]

Another newspaper article..

[GHIA]

If I understood correctly, this extract from the newspaper was sent by Karmann to Segre








Russ, Do you know Who is the person next to Segre (Between Luigi Segre and Wilhelm Karmann) on the photo below?