Solved - NEH 359: Ghia VW EA 47-12 Prototype 1954/5

[Carnut]

New puzzle time: what's this for 1 point?

[Soziopath]

Is it a Karmann Ghia Prototyp?

[Carnut]

Is it a Karmann Ghia Prototyp?

Yes it is.
It looks so similar but different to the production car!

[Soziopath]

No, it must be the VW EA 47-12 (1955).

link deleted

edit: must be the same

[Allemano]

No, it must be the VW EA 47-12 (1955).

link deleted

edit: must be the same

Soziopath: please read that rulebook first:
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=6857.0

[Carnut]

No, it must be the VW EA 47-12 (1955).

link deleted

edit: must be the same

Could be another name for it.  All the prototypes would have had such code-names/numbers.

[ImpishGrin]

Are you sure the EA 47-12 was a Karmann Ghia prototype? This car was built in 1955, when Karmann Ghia's production was already starting.

I've read that this car was inspired by the Karmann Ghia but was supposed to be a Beetle replacement.

[Carnut]

Not at all sure, no!  I'm no expert on them. 
Below might throw some light on it - it refers to cars built by Ghia rather than Karmann, incl the puzzle car:

Quote
There were two handbuilt prototypes built by Ghia in Turin, Italy, during the year 1954. At that time, Ghia apparently made these two prototypes to explore the possibility of a four-seater sporty Volkswagen Coupe (to potentially have a couple more conservative solutions for Volkswagen to choose from; VW was an exceptionally conservative company at the time). Thankfully, Heinrich Nordhoff either never saw these prototypes, or preferred the original (white) 1953 prototype (which he first saw on 16 November 1953), hence the the car who went into production and became known as the Karmann Ghia greatly resembled the original Ghia prototype.

It's also interesting to note that in 1954, Ghia also prepared two four-seater Cabriolet prototypes, which predated the work done at the Karmann works later (by Johannes Beeskow, none other) to engineer the standard production Coupe into a Cabriolet form. One of these four-seater Cabriolets was a light beige color, the other a dark hue.

I don't believe any of these four Ghia-built 1954 prototypes still exist today; only the original 1953 Coupe
Unquote

The picture below is NOT the same car as the puzzle car, but maybe they're both developments of the four mentioned above that no longer exist?  The 1955 plate might be confusing; it was probably made in '54 as a proposal for '55?

[Carnut]

Looking further into it I think you are right, and it was a prototype VW by Ghia but not a Karmann-Ghia.
I will change the heading accordingly.
Thanks.

[ImpishGrin]

But you're also right saying the EA 47-12 in VW museum (the colour picture) is not the same car as the puzzle one. The angle of the photo doesn't allow for comparison of proportions, but there's a differnce in the doorwindows for example. The puzzle car looks to have frameless windows, with only a metal slat, while the museum car has rather pronounced window frames.