Volkswagen's popular Beetle spawned a number of other automobiles, creations like the Thing, Microbus, and most interesting of all, the Karmann Ghia. One of the most sought-after air-cooled convertibles ever built, even Car and Driver magazine went as far as to compare it to the ever-classic Porsche Speedster. Introduced in 1955, the beloved Karmann Ghia was an interesting German-Italian joint effort. The body was produced by Karmann under contract, but was designed by the famous Italian design firm Ghia. The car far surpassed its creator's expectations in both execution and commercial success. When production ceased at the Osnabruck plant in July 1974, 283,501 coupes and 80,897 convertibles had been produced.
