The Open Road Classic Car Hire

1969 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Type 34 Razoredge

This is the coolest car to be added to The Open Road's fleet of self drive hire classic cars. Throughout 2007 and 2008 we received regular requests from customers wanting to hire a VW Karmann Ghia of some sort.

Having looked at a number of Type 1 Karmann Ghias, both coupes and roadsters, and not seen one that I considered good enough, this one came up for sale and I just had to buy it.

There are only about 100 Razoredge Ghias in the UK so it isn't just the colour scheme of Porsche International Orange with a blue roof that makes this car unusual. This is the only Karmann Ghia Razoredge for rent anywhere in the World!

The Type 34 Karmann Ghia was introduced by Volkswagen in 1961, based on its new Type 3 platform. It was the launch vehicle for Volkswagen's new 1500 cc engine and was the fastest, most luxurious, and most expensive Volkswagen at the time. Due to model confusion with the release of the Type 1 Beetle 1500cc in 1967, the public dubbed the VW Type 34 the "RazorEdge" in England, "Der Große Karmann" (the big Karmann) in Germany and "European Ghia" in the United States. By 1969 when our car was built the cars were fitted with a 1600 cc engine.

This car has been the subject of an extensive re-build with much metal replaced, a full respray, including the bumpers, which would originally have been chrome. The seats have been re-trimmed in orange and black leather, to go with the exterior colour scheme. The overall effect is excellent, such that the previous owner won a number of 2nd and 1st places in VW Concours competitions during 2006 and 2007.

However as with all cars that are new to our fleet, there is a list of small jobs that need doing before we will let it out on hire. The suspension has been lowered and needs raising a bit, the heater doesn't work and there are a number of other minor items that need fixing. Plus, to make sure it is reliable enough not to break down while out on hire, I will drive it throughout the Autumn and Winter myself and cover at least 1,000 miles in it before hiring it out.

We are happy to sell gift vouchers and to take bookings for this car from 1st April 2009, maybe earlier, once all the bugs are ironed out. By then the car will be 40. Have you ever seen such a funky 40 year old?

Although this car does have a rear bench seat, this is very small, has limited headroom and no seat belts. Even the instruction manual calls this an 'emergency seat'. We therefore recommend that you treat this as a two seater car.

Work on the car is progressing well:

The suspension has been raised back to it factory settings.
The new heat exchangers and exhaust have arrived and are being fitted this week.
When I get it back I will fit it with reversing and fog lights and tidy up some of the other electrics.
As the car will become my daily driver as well I will fit a radio, complete with CD player and MP3 socket.
The liners for the front and rear luggage compartments are no longer available so I will have some made up by a local trimmer.
I am planning to show the car at the VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park in Esher, Surrey at the end of March 2009 if you want to have a look. Hopefully it will be mentioned in VolksWorld Magazine before then.