The first Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was the Type 14 and was on sale in 1955. A 2-door coupé with two foldaway back seats – it looked like a classy sports car, yet it only had the Beetle's Type 1 chassis and 1200cc rear-mounted engine. Lower and wider than the Beetle, the aerodynamics of the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, capable of just over 70mph
Sales of the Mk1 Golf Cabriolet notched up 400,871, so it succeeded in the showroom, but it’s always been viewed as the poorer relation to the GTI, even when sharing the same engine.The Mk1 Cabriolet is of unibody construction built entirely at the factory of Karmann, from stamping to final assembly; Volkswagen supplied the engine, suspension, interior, etc. for Karmann to install. The vinyl or cloth tops were heavily insulated and manually - or beginning in 1991, electrically - operated, with a heated glass rear window. Built by Karmann, the four-seater Cabriolet had body strengthening, a transverse roll bar and enhanced trim. Earlier cars had manually-operated hoods but they eventually graduated to powered operation. The GTI equivalent was known as the GLi until 1984 but proved slower and less rigid than the hatch.
In addition, the Golf GTI Cabriolet was all about performance and the stats speak for themselves: it is capable of reaching 62mph in 7.3 seconds and it has a top speed of 147mph. It’s not as fast as the standard GTI, which will cover the 0-62mph sprint in 6.7 seconds and has a top speed of 149mph, but it is close.
MDgV.mk1 golf gti karmann cabriolet
