Is the Karmann Ghia really a sports car?
No. The brochures will say otherwise, but no, it’s really not. I like to call it a driver’s car. You can certainly make it into a sports car, and pretty cheaply, too. All you need is some modest suspension and engine upgrades, but it will take a lot of money to really make it a giant killer. Where to find a Karmann Ghia. Dry dry dry. Buy a Karmann Ghia in the driest place you can. VW went on and on about the rust protection they built into their cars, but they never really expected poor high school kids to be looking after them forty years later. The rust resistant primers they used simply cannot stand up to several decades. Rust damage is the single biggest expense you will face with Ghia ownership. It makes more economic sense to buy a rust-free Ghia with a blown motor than it does to buy a perfectly running, but rusty car. I live in Vancouver, Canada, a place where the weather takes every opportunity to prove that classic cars are bio-degradable. I bought my first Ghia here, and I n
