1962 Ghia L6.4

Only 26 of these L6.4 vehicles were built. The vehicles featured Chrysler components, manufactured by the Michigan-based company named Dual, and bodywork by the Ghia Company. Ghia, based in Turin Italy, specialized in the art of coachbuilding. To save on cost, the vehicles were totally assembled in Italy. Only 26 examples were produced. Out of the 26 examples, one was a prototype that featured a 'Dual Ghia' emblem on the nose. The remainder of the vehicles had an 'L6.4' emblem with the American and Italian flags. The prototype had a roofline that was lower, by about an inch than the remainder of the vehicles.

During World War I, Gene Casaroll had conceived of a dual-engined lowboy transporter for tanks and other heavy weapons. He established Dual Motors to build them; when the war ended, demand understandably declined rapidly. During the late Forties and early Fifties, the Automobile Shippers company owned by Casaroll operated a 100+ fleet of semi-trailers that transported new cars from factories to dealers. His success allowed for the exploration of challenges and new adventures. He contested the Indianapolis 500 with his Automobile Shippers Specials that were piloted by Henry Banks, George Lynch, Bill Schindler, Carl Forberg, Walt Faulkner, Troy Ruttman and Duane Carter. He was intrigued by Frank Kurtis's two-seat sports car and considered putting it into serious production. Another opportunity presented itself when the Chrysler Corporation decided not to produce the 'Firearrow' dream cars.

The Firearrows were a series of four different designs that were penned and built in Italy by Luigi Segre's Carrozzeria Ghia. The first two Firearrows were sleek two-seat roadsters with dramatic fins and a frameless windshield. Both rested on a Dodge 119-inch wheelbase chassis and powered by a 241 cubic-inch 'Red Ram' Hemi V8 engine. Numerous differences distinguished the two, with the second example having round taillights, wide-spaced headlamps, chrome wire wheels, a light yellow exterior, and a toothed grille treatment. The other two Firearrow concepts were a coupe and another roadster. Casaroll was particularly attracted to the fourth Firearrow.

Chrysler decided not to produce the Firearrows due to the costs associated with shipping chassis to Italy for the fitment of labor-intensive bodywork.

Casaroll worked with Ghia to refine the Firearrow designs, and the result of their work made its debut in 1955 at the Geneva Motor Show. The United States debut took place on June 28th at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club north of Detroit, Michigan. The car was dubbed the Firebomb and it had seating for four, a folding top with a glass back window, and glass side windows. The Dodge engine was relocated a full foot back in the chassis, helping with weight distribution.

Production of the Dual-Ghia began in 1956, with the Dodge frame and drivetrain being sent to Italy. Upon arrival, Carrozzeria Ghia fabricated the interior and bodywork. Once this process was complete, the partially completed vehicles were sent back to the United States, where Dual-Motors finished assembly.

Equipped with a 315 cubic-inch (5.2 L) Dodge hemispherical-head short-stroke V-8 engine, performance was exceptional. (Some of the examples built in 1957 received the Dodge D-500 361 cubic-inch (5.9-liter) V8 with a dual quad carburetor.)

The Dual-Ghia was elegant, expensive, and exclusive. Casaroll selected or rejected each buyer based on subjective criteria, one of which was geographic and social distribution. Each successful client was able to acquire just one example. Among the list of social elite buyers included Frank Sinatra, Eddie Fisher, Peter Lawford, Eddie Fisher, and Glenn Ford. Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin didn't make the cut, but Gary Morton, Lucille Ball's husband who frequented the Rat Pack's periphery, did.

When Chrysler adopted unit-body construction beginning in 1960, the Dual-Ghia's existence was inevitable. Ghia created several prototype designs on full-size working chassis, but Casaroll redirected his attention back to his Automobile Shippers company. Due to the industry-wide slowdown in sales coupled with labor problems, shipments had declined.

Paul Fargo was Ghia's U.S. representative and later became Dual-Motors Vice President. With updates to the design and now operating under the name 'Ghia,' production resumed. The Ghia L6.4 came equipped with a 383 cubic-inch Chrysler V8 developing 335 horsepower. The '6.4' in the vehicle's name signified the metric displacement of the vehicle's engine. The 2+2 hardtop had a large three-piece rear window, finless-rear fenders, 'sugar scoop' rear lights, and an oval grille housing fine egg-crate screening.

A suitable successor to the Dual-Ghia, the Ghia L6.4 was introduced at the Paris Show in late 1960. A mere twenty-six examples were built from 1960 to 1963 with base prices in the neighborhood of $13,500.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2018