My Car Quest: Ghia

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Ghia 450SS - The Hollywood Convertible

by Mike -

The Hollywood producer, Burt Sugarman, saw a Ghia-bodied Fiat on the cover of Road & Track magazine in 1965. Sugarman loved the looks and wanted one for himself. He approached Ghia and persuaded the company to build a similar car. So, the Ghia 450SS was born.

Today the Ghia 450SS is an extremely rare car that combines the elegant styling of Giorgetto Giugiaro with Chrysler power.

The car was displayed at the 1966 Turin Motor Show - only 52 were made in 1966 and 1967. All 450SSs were sold by a dealer in Beverly Hills, California, which may help explain why many of these cars were owned by Hollywood types.

These are not fast super cars but anyone would look good driving down Sunset Boulevard or Wilshire Boulevard in one of these.

Click on the images for a larger view.

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Interesting Cars For Sale Today On The Internet

by Mike -

Here are three interesting cars for sale:

1962 GHIA L6.4

This was Dean Martin's car customized by George Barris. Only 26 Ghia L6.4s were made. The engine is a 335 hp Chrysler 383 cid V8 with a TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes and air conditioning. Italian style with American power, always great. Anyone would look good cruising down Sunset in this baby!

Available from Hyman Ltd. in St. Louis for $199,500.

1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV

This was Rod Stewart's car. The engine is a 4.0 Litre V12 with a 5-speed ZF transaxle. It has been restored by a marque expert and is reportedly in excellent condition. I would look good cruising in this anywhere!

Available from Fantasy Junction in California for $895,000.

1957 BMW Isetta 300

The engine is a 298cc, so the power is not much but these cars were designed by Iso to be easy and inexpensive city transportation. The driver parks front first into the curb and opens the door and steps out onto the sidewalk. This works because the steering wheel is attached to the door. Iso had to license this design to BMW, and other companies, because they did not sell well in the Italian market - maybe they were not cool enough for the Italian market. Times have changed and Isettas have become hip. I do not believe that any famous singer owned this car.