A FINE Cognac

Nicolas Violeau has owned VWs since the age of 17, and has finally scratched his Karmann Ghia itch, in sublime style

Words: Mark Walker

If you’ve ever looked into the story of how the Karmann Ghia came to exist, you’ll be aware it was a fairly convoluted tale involving Wilhelm Karmann chasing down VW general director, Heinz Nordhoff, to put it into production. Nordhoff, the man charged with building Volkswagen up after the Allies handed control back to Germany, was committed to the single model philosophy. And he came in for some criticism for it. Indeed, the Type 2 would never have come to be if it weren’t for the dogged determination of Ben Pon. The Karmann Ghia story is a similar one. After starting the project in 1950, Karmann approached Nordhoff with a design for what would eventually become the Type 14 (Type 1-based) Karmann Ghia, but it was flatly rejected. Karmann was…

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VolksWorld (Digital) - 1 Issue, April/May 2025

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