Wilhelm Karmann GmbH in Osnabrück, Germany is an independent company in the motor vehicle industry. Over the course of more than a century, they have undertaken various roles, from design to production and assembly of components, for various well-known manufacturers of automobiles including Chrysler and Volkswagen.

Two well-known cars produced by Karmann in Osnabrück in the 20th century are the VW Beetle cabriolet (1949-1980), a total of 331,874 vehicles, and, most closely associated with the Karmann name, the Karmann Ghia. Between 1955 and 1974, 443,482 Karmann Ghias were manufactured by Karmann, placing their own sports-car-style body on the chassis of the Volkswagen Beetle.

Karmann is best known today for its work on cabriolets. It provides roof-components for many of the cabriolets we see on our streets today, such as the Mercedes Benz SLK , the Renault Mégane and the Volkswagen New Beetle Cabrio. Both the headquarters in Osnabrück and the additional facility in Rheine also construct complete vehicles, such as both of the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet / Cabrio, the Audi A4 Cabrio and the Mercedes Benz CLK .

A large part of the development of the Chrysler Crossfire was done independently by Karmann, and the vehicle is produced by Karmman in Osnabrück.

External link

• Karmann's official web site