When it comes to American automobiles of the Nineteen Fifties, few designers are talked about in the identical breath as Virgil Exner. As Chrysler Corporation’s chief designer from the Nineteen Fifties, he pulled the corporate from its stick-in-the-mud fame with 1955’s Forward Look, then adopted it up with a 1957 revamp that turned the business on its facet and, specifically, made General Motors jealous to no finish.
Chrysler’s fashion prowess additionally was demonstrated by a number of Exner-designed present automobiles, particularly these coming from Carrozzeria Ghia. Most had been one-offs, although a number of from the early Nineteen Fifties had been inbuilt very small numbers. One of these one-offs, a 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400, can have the chance to change caretakers at Bonhams in January 2023.
The Super Dart 400 was primarily based on the 1956 Chrysler Dart present automobile (which was subsequently reconfigured because the Diablo). The following mannequin 12 months, a Chrysler 300-C chassis was shipped to Turin to turn into the Super Dart 400, outfitted with 400-horsepower 392 Hemi (ten greater than the highest engine obtainable for the 300-C). The fascinating a part of the historical past of this car really comes afterwards, because the automobile was paraded round by Dual-Motors of Dual-Ghia fame. In 1958, the Super Dart 400 was then bought to a rich non-public particular person to the tune of $15,000, with this gentleman driving it for 38,000 miles over 19 years. Today, the Super Dart 400 maintains its authentic paint, chrome and upholstery, a implausible piece of Nineteen Fifties American fashion and Italian coachwork.
Dual-Motors, in fact, constructed a handful of luxurious hybrid convertibles primarily based on the Dodge 1955 Firebomb by Ghia. Produced from 1956-58, the 117 automobiles (plus two coupes) had been well-liked with the Jet Set, with one other Ghia-based car following for 1960-62: the Ghia L6.4, a glossy hybrid luxurious coupe that introduced the design of the previous-generation automobile into the Nineteen Sixties. For $13,000, a purchaser would obtain a coach-built Italian coupe with a 335-horsepower Chrysler 383 V8 (rated 10 horses greater than the inventory engine) and distinction in spades. Interestingly, air con was non-obligatory.
This explicit instance options the inventory headlight/parking gentle configuration however, if you happen to peruse on-line photos, chances are you’ll catch one of many eight out of 26 automobiles modified by Barris Kustom Industries with European-style headlights.
The third Ghia automobile set to hit the block at Bonhams is a type of handful of Chrysler Ghia automobiles that had been inbuilt restricted portions, this one the 1954 GT-1 Coupé. Based on a 125.5-inch wheelbase New Yorker chassis and powered by a 235-horsepower 331 Hemi and PowerFlite computerized. The story goes that the 1952 Chrysler Special by Ghia impressed a one-off for C.B. Thomas, President of Chrysler’s export division. That in flip led to the limited-edition variations of that and the GS-1. This explicit GS-1 is a triple Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance participant and it, together with the Ghia L6.4 and the Super Dart 400 above, can be auctioned as a part of the John White Ramshead Collection by Bonhams in January.
