1963 Karmann Ghia

Years ago, back in the days of my youth, I had a 1500cc Beetle. At the same time a good friend had a 1600cc Karmann Ghia and many was the time we’d speed test the two vehicles on stretches of dual carriageway near our houses. Off the line, my 15 had his 16 every time and up the insignificant inclines South Cambridgeshire had to offer I could always hold my own, but on downhill stretches and flat out in top he would always edge ahead.

Now I’ve long been convinced that VW’s 1500 was an infinitely superior engine to the later, flat spot-ridden 1600 and I’m not buying the extra 100cc as the reason for his increased velocity so, with no wind tunnel evidence to back it up, I put it down to the more slippery aerodynamics of the svelte, Karmann-designed coupé over the bulbous Porsche-designed sedan.

Why then, I’ve often wondered, have so few KG coupés been used as drag cars? There have certainly been a few notable ones over the years but it’s by no means the popular choice. You might put it down to a higher initial cost or their relative scarcity, or perhaps it’s the scare factor.

Like automatic Type 3s, a lot of people are scared of buying Karmann Ghias in case they turn out to be rotten – as indeed a great many do – and they end up getting themselves into a project they simply can’t afford to finish. No such worries for Nicolas Arico though, for he just went ahead and bought the first one he saw – an April ’63 model – when he decided he wanted a Ghia to go racing with in 2003. True to form though, when he started to strip the car down he found it had rust in all the usual places he expected, and a lot of places he didn’t, too. In fact, so bad did it become that he had to seriously consider whether it was really viable to go ahead with the restoration or simply to walk away.

In the end he contacted local specialist Coxy Folie and they agreed to take on the bodyshell restoration – a process which involved replacing a 12-inch band all the way around the car’s nether regions. We’re talking new inner and outer sills, replacement sections in the bottoms of all the wings, front and rear valances, repairs to the wheel arches, doors and such common or garden Ghia nasties as the headlight housings, front peak and nostril areas.

 

For the full story check out the February 2009 issue of VolksWorld magazine. On sale on 29 December and then available through back issues.

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