The LAST 14 - A !!
This mind twisting car was built as a TEST by KARMANN starting with a 1952 Zwitter body that came off production in Wolfsburg with already cut-out slots in the rear quarter panels for semaphores. Then Karmann grafted in left - over parts from the bankrupt Hebmueller factory, and the so - called “Kar - Mueller” was born.
Due to the disappearing roof frame of the 14 - A design, there was no space left for semaphores in the rear quarters as on normal Karmann cabrios. Therefore , the OG sema slots were closed by welding in a metal strip, and the standard Karmann Sema boxes were installed in the front quarters instead.
As per the VW birth certificate, the car was finished in November of 1952 in normal series, and with the same features as other Karmann Zwitters of that era. As she was a prototype, and not intended for dealer delivery, she was sent to the « VW Car Park » instead. and used as a company car / and, presumably as a study car for a whole year until her fate was decided at VW.
Meanwhile, Wilhelm Karmann was in contact with Carozzeria Ghia of Turin, Italy to see if a more sporty car could be made on the VW platform. In November of 1953, the story goes that this new car was presented to Mr Karmann in a quiet garage near Paris, France, around the same time as the 1953 Paris Auto Salon. Later on, that car was presented in Wolfsburg to VW Boss H. Nordhoff and staff, and was approved for series production ASAP. This became known as the “Karmann Ghia.” At that moment, there was no more room for the Typ 14 - A in the VW production lineup, and the rest is history !
In April, 1954, the “Karmueller” Typ 14 - A / Typ 15 was sold privately through the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen organisation; Prof. Oeftering to his friend, the director of the engineering company Dupré of Speyer, Germany .
So here she sits today restored as faithfully as possible to the then current Zwitter & Karmann paint color Standard . The whitish / beige color itself was confirmed to Heb Hunters by a member of the Dupre family who remembered the car in his own family use for many years when he was young. The color was also confirmed from actual paint samples still visible on the mostly - OG body.
So, the last page of the Hebmueller book was then officially closed at Volkswagen, and only the remaining split - dash Kundendienst « KD » bodies (all produced in 1950) were left to be built eventually & privately by VW dealers, & released sporadically after that. (SD/PS)
