Page 105 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

as the original Type 14, nor the “knife edge” styling of the Type 34, the TC was nonetheless a roomy 2 + 2 coupe with a modern and comfortable interior. Underneath, it was similar to the Type 14, although the platform of the Volkswagen Type 4 variant was used rather than that of the Volkswagen Beetle. As with the Type 34, however, the TC was fitted with the 1584 cc flat-four air- cooled boxer unit from the Type 3 instead of the 1192 cc unit of the Type 14.
A total of 18,119 TC models were produced during its production run from 1972 until 1975. It was offered only in South America and was not exported off the continent.
In late 1974, the Karmann-built Ghias were superseded by the Golf-based Scirocco and production ended with some 450,000 units produced.
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
THE DRIVE
VW’s ad agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, the master of the soft sell, was quick to realize that marketing the Karmann Ghia as a sports car was bound to fail. One of its more popular ads displays a Karmann Ghia coupe with a racing stripe running across its midsection above the headline, “You’d probably lose.” Some ads played up the VW reliable DNA with, “Deep down, it’s a Volkswagen,” while another made fun of American ponycars.
The reality is that the Karmann Ghia was a bit of a hard sell as a sports car – it was priced well above a standard VW (without the functional packaging) and offered no mechanical differentiation over a Beetle. And indeed, with just 40 horsepower in the early cars and a 0-60 time of 30 seconds, it wasn’t exactly setting hearts on fire. But for what Road & Track called “some unexplainable reason, one feels as though the [Karmann Ghia] coupe is performing much better than the sedan.” There was some sliver of truth to that based on the Karmann Ghia’s smaller frontal area (at least versus a Beetle), which gave it a higher top speed, though its weight penalty gave it slower acceleration than the Beetle.
Getting into a Karmann Ghia is where you’ll notice the biggest contrast to the Beetle. The driving position is substantially lower, as is headroom. As with the Beetle, footroom is at a bit of premium, encroached by the front wheels, though that is offset by extensive fore/aft seat travel. No matter what the year, the instrument panel (if you can call it that with just 2-3 instruments) is incredibly simple when compared to even contemporary coupes (very early cars didn’t even offer a fuel gauge). The original painted design was subsequently replaced by woodgrained version and ultimately by a vinyl-covered design. There is a rear seat in certain years, but not one that you’d want to spend much time in.
TOP: The Karmann Ghia TC was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia for the South American market. ABOVE: The “knife edge” Type 34 was never offered in the US.
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