1961 Ghia L6.4

Niche manufacturers have come and gone throughout history, most leaving just as quickly as they came, with varying degrees of impact and uniqueness. One such example was the short-lived Dual-Ghia, arriving in 1956 and departing two years later. They would ultimately produce around 177 vehicles including prototypes, with all but two being convertibles, falling far short of the intended 150 cars per year that company founder, Eugene Casaroll, had predicted. Despite its brief existence, they built one of the most complex, high-quality, and enviable vehicles of its era with sticker prices that far exceeded most other vehicles.

Italian automotive designer Luigi 'Gigi' Segre, owner of Carrozzeria Ghia from 1953 through 1963, traveled to the United States in the early-to-mid-1950s where he met Chrysler's chief stylist Virgil Exner and CEO K.T. Keller. A working alliance was forged that allowed Carrozzeria Ghia's international stature to flourish while giving Exner and Chrylser the ability to see their studio work and prototypes come to life much quicker, and at a dramatically lower price. Among the concepts produced in this union were the Firearrow I, II, III, IV and the Firebomb. The Firebomb was a functional pre-production-ready prototype, a direct descendant of the Dodge Firearrow concepts, and the immediate predecessor to the ultra-exclusive Dual-Ghia.

The first Firearrow was a static full-size model devoid of an engine, and each of the three Firearrows that followed was operational. The Firearrow II was a convertible, the Firearrow III was a coupe, and the Firearrow IV was another convertible. They were elegant, with styling from Virgil Exner's pencil in Detroit. When it came time to decide if they would enter production, Chrysler decided to cancel the project due to the costs associated with shipping the chassis to Italy for the fitment of the hand-formed bodywork.

Sensing an opportunity, Eugene 'Gene' Casaroll purchased the rights to the Firearrow IV design. Mr. Casaroll was the owner of a Detroit-based new car-shipping company (Chrysler's main car transporter), proprietor of specialty vehicle manufacturer Dual-Motors, and an Indianapolis 500 car sponsor. He had started small, initially hiring men to drive cars to their destinations while providing them with a bus or train ticket back home. Later, he created his own version of the car carrier which proved very successful and made him very wealthy. At the height of his success, he employed a fleet of over 130 truck transport rigs.

Mr. Casaroll worked with Ghia, using the Firearrow IV as a starting platform, to create a new concept called the Firebomb. Unlike the previous Firearrow concepts which had been styled by Exner, the Firebomb was styled from within Ghia and was a clear departure from the previous Firearrow cars. The previous quad headlamps were replaced by dual headlamps, and they wore production-ready items such as conventional bumpers. It rested on a 115-inch chassis and was powered by a D-500 Hemi V8 engine and Powerflite transmissions.

The Firebomb was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1955, and to the United State on June 28th at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club north of Detroit, Michigan. The production versions that followed were faithful to the Firebomb design, with only minor adjustments including the addition of small and subtle tailfins. Casaroll's designer Paul Farago enlarged the passenger and luggage space in order to improve user comfort.

The bodies were made in Turin, Italy, and shipped back to Detroit where they were mounted to the chassis. Power was courtesy of a Dodge Red Ram Hemi V8 engine. Perhaps even more impressive than its industry-topping price tag was the exclusive, Hollywood clientele which purchased the Dual Ghias. The list of owners included the Rat Pack of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., and Joey Bishop. Even Lucille Ball owned a Dual-Ghia. One journalist wrote, 'A Rolls-Royce is a Hollywood status symbol for those who can't get a Dual Ghia.'

A prototype coupe, known as the Dual Ghia 400, was built with styling based on a Gilda styling study. It was well equipped with Chrysler's Hi-Way Hi-Fi record player, four bucket seats, and air conditioning. Power was from a 392 cubic-inch Chrysler Hemi V8 offering 400 horsepower and installed in a 1957 Chrysler 300 chassis.

By 1958, Casaroll was ailing, and business for the shipping line had slowed. He was reluctant to undertake another Dual-Ghia project, but Vice President of Dual Motors Paul Farago was, and he and the Ghia designers created a second-generation model, this time a 'two-plus-two' fastback coupe. This time Chrysler's Virgil Exner helped with the design and Ghia virtually built the entire car, including the chassis and the body. The engine was a 383 cubic-inch 'Wedge' V-8 with overhead valves and a Carter four-barrel carburetor delivering 335 horsepower. It was backed by a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, with front Girling disc brakes and rear Chrysler hydraulic drums (or four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes). In the front was an independent suspension setup with torsion bars and tubular shock absorbers. The back received a solid axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs and tubular shock absorbers.

This new model was called the L 6.4, or '6.4-Liter,' representing the metric displacement of the engine. Since Casaroll's Dual Motors involvement in the project had dwindled, the 'Ghia' name was used instead of Dual Motors.

While the original Dual Ghia Convertible had sold for approximately $7,500, the Ghia L 6.4 far eclipsed that figure with its astonishing price tag of $13,500. Despite the steep price, it did not hinder the Rat Pack of Sinatra and Martin to return as customers. In the end, it was not the high price tag that doomed the Ghia L 6.4 (albeit, it cost more than an average house), but the complexity of building a car in Italy and selling it in the United States. Just twenty-six examples were built before this chapter in history came to a close.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2022