Automotive Traveler: Chryslers Italianate Diversions, Part 1; The Dual-Ghia

DSC_00230023
A stunning combination of Italian Craftsmanship, underpinned by Yankee PAH!

If you think the idea of Italian-built production Chryslers is new, you only have to look back about 50 years to see that we are not navigating in uncharted waters.

090511-05-dual-ghia_taillight_detail
Today's cars could never emulate this type of beauty.

In honor of the merger/acquisition between Chrysler and Fiat, I though it was time to showcase other Italianate Chryslers that have been built and sold. I wrote this series for Automotive Traveler, and I thought it was time to post it here. In this four-part series, we’ll take a passing glance at some of the most memorable (and infamous) Chrysler-inspired production machines including the Dual-Ghia, the Ghia L6.4, the Ghia 450SS, that modern tragedy, the Chrysler TC by Maserati, and Chrysler’s first attempt to distribute Alfa Romeo in North America, the Alfa Romeo 164. First up, the Dual-Ghia, a car that was embraced by the Hollywood elite.

111308-2123-hiltonheada4
A vision in Plum, way before "Plum Crazy" was ever popular

090511-01-dual-ghia

2614055802_f7de4e3440

090511-04-dual-ghia_engine_compartment

dual-ghia_57_01

The idea of having Italian craftsmen collaborate with Yankee engineers is really nothing new. Many of the American automakers sought out Italian design houses to produce stunning prototypes and produce them at far lower costs than they could have here in the states. While Nash utilized Pinninfarina to design their production vehicles, Chrysler commissioned Carrozzeria Ghia. The Dual-Ghia was a favorite car of entertainment personalities during the 1950s. A-list owners included popular celebrities such as Debbie Reynolds, Lucille Ball, and Frank Sinatra. Along with a few of the infamous Rat Pack, each owned a Dual-Ghia at one time or another. Peter Lawford even drove one on his television series The Thin Man. The Dual-Ghia was a custom-built sports car featuring a perfect combination of Italian styling and Chrysler engineering.

In the early ’50s, American auto shows were deluged with sporty coupe and roadster concept cars. The Corvette was the first of these to go into production in 1953, and GM also created the Oldsmobile F-88 roadster and the Olds Rocket V-8-powered Cutlass. Pontiac featured its Bonneville Special and Buick showed its Wildcat and Wildcat II. Chrysler was no exception, as it displayed a number of Virgil Exner-designed, Ghia-built show cars like this 1954 coupe–one of five that survive–built on the chassis of a Chrysler New Yorker. Most of these show cars were realistic interpretations of the automobile designer’s vision of a personal sporty car. The Ghia-Chrysler connection began in 1951 with Ghia’s execution of the K-310 show car designed by Virgil Exner. Chrysler continued to use Ghia’s craftsmen to create other show cars, including a series based on the Firearrow. These cars were so popular on the show circuit that Chrysler investigated the possibility of producing a Firearrow on a limited basis. However, Chrysler soon abandoned the idea and Detroit industrialist Gene Casaroll stepped in. Casaroll was the head of Auto Shippers Company and Dual Motors Corporation, an enterprise that built twin-engine vehicles for the military during the war.

Casaroll acquired the rights to the Firearrow. He instructed his chief engineer, Paul Farago, to make the necessary modifications to the design for the American market. Casarole renamed his new car The Firebomb, and in 1955, the first prototype Dual-Ghia was built. Production was scheduled to begin in 1956 and unfortunately ended in 1958. The Dual-Ghia concept used rugged, dependable, and well-proven Dodge engines and transmissions. The use of Chrysler-engineered underpinnings allowed the car to be repaired locally with standard Mopar parts. The Ghia facility in Turin, Italy, headed by Luigi Segre, was chosen to craft the elegant bodies. Once complete, the bodies were shipped to Detroit and mated to the chassis. The Dual-Ghia used a shortened Dodge passenger car chassis. Dodge also provided the Hemi engine and Powerflite transmission. This made for an impressive package, especially since the optional Dodge D-500 horsepower ratings were consistently higher than those of the Corvette. Distinctive and quite fast, it had a top speed of 120 mph according to a contemporary road test.

With its peaked front fenders, single-bar grille, wire wheels, and perky blade-like rear fins the Dual-Ghia was a handsome car. The front and rear were protected by sturdy Dodge bumpers. Inside, the Dual-Ghia was luxuriously appointed, including English Connolly leather and fine carpeting. The full complement of gauges included a tachometer. The trunk was carpeted, as was the underside of the hood for sound insulation. The first phase of the Dual-Ghia came to an end in 1958 when the company’s supply of Dodge components ran out. The conversion of Chrysler Corp’s cars to torsion bar front suspension for 1957, and its planned changeover to unitized bodies in 1960, required massive changes by Dual-Motors if it were to continue the Dual-Ghia. The health of Casaroll, the Dual-Ghia’s originator, began to fail and he chose to concentrate on his shipping business.

In the fifties, it was rare to see a show car turned into a production vehicle. This stylish car, an unlikely marriage between Chrysler and Ghia, became an instant hit with the Hollywood Elite. The Dual-Ghia was the car to be seen in. One gossip columnist even commented that the Rolls Royce was for the Hollywood rich who couldn’t get a Dual-Ghia. Out of the 117 cars produced, 32 have been documented as survivors as of July 2006. Some of the American celebrities that owned one included Sterling Hayden and Richard Nixon. Desi Arnaz owned one, but he wrecked it. Ronald Reagan owned one which he lost in a high-stakes poker game with then-President Lyndon Johnson, who kept the car for several years. For some great views of another stunning Dual-Ghia, take a look at “We Love Dodges, Past, Presnt, and Future…”

So there you have it, a handsome, fast, limited-edition personal car with Italian coachwork and American components. If and when Chrysler starts building the best of Fiat here in the US, it will be the best of Italian engineering with American coachwork. A Chrysler-built Fiat 500? Well, that’s something to think about, and as you will see, not unprecedented.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

  1. CptSevere Avatar

    Pure class on wheels. It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to picture Frank Sinatra tooling around in one of these.

    1. RegalRegalia Avatar

      Incredibly classy. To me it looks more like the new sls than the old sl300.

  2. engineerd Avatar

    I've never been a huge Chrysler fan. As a child of the '80s, Chryslers to me are K-Cars and minivans. They are cool looking cars like the Magnum, but with questionable build quality. Chrysler is Jeep — which is good — and the whoring of the Jeep brand — which is bad.
    It's too bad I feel this way, because before the '70s, Chrysler had some really cool and innovative offerings. The Dual Ghia is one of these. While not exactly produced by Chrysler, they had factory support. The relationship between Chrysler and Dual Motors was akin to the OEM and Coachbuilder relationship in the '20s and '30s.

    1. muthalovin Avatar

      I completely agree. I had a fine Crysler as my first car. A 1990 Dogde Daytona Shelby that my dad handed down to me in '96. I guess my dad let me drive it because he wanted to teach me a lesson. The Daytona had shed much of its clearcoat and paint, the engine was incredibly troublesome, and the pop-up headlights would not pop-up. After I took ownership, I proceeded to throw a rod. We wrenched in another motor, and the turbo blew up. God, Crysler!
      /end rant
      But the Dual-Ghia looks awesome. I love the single bar front end. Love it!

  3. Rug Cleaning Los Angeles Avatar

    thanks for your time for providing valuable info regarding the topic. I am a fan with the website. Keep up acknowledge that there are job.

  4. Gandhi Rahul Avatar

    Thanks a ton for blogging this, it was very helpful and told a ton