1952 Chrysler Thomas Special Prototype Coupe

This 1952 Chrysler Ghia Thomas Special SWB prototype is believed to have been the show car presented to the public at the 1953 Pars Auto Show. It is the only show car that sat atop a shortened wheelbase. It is powered by a Chrysler 331 cubic-inch V8 that produces 235 horsepower. It has four-wheel drum brakes and a three-speed automatic transmission. It is a unique and wonderful example of American and Italian design married together to produce a graceful but powerful one-of-a-kind creation.

This Chrysler special was exhibited on the Chrysler stand at the 1953 Paris Auto Salon. Built on a shortened New Yorker chassis it has the 230 bhp Chrysler 'Firepower Hemi' V8 and the then-new Power-Flite transmission. This 'Idea car' was the work of industrial designer Virgil Exner, who was contracted by Chrysler along with Carrozzeria Ghia to build the coupe coachwork. The one criterion that was demanded by Chrysler President K.T. Keller was that 'a person should enter and exit a Chrysler without knocking off his Fedora.'! This car was specially commissioned for C.B. Thomas, president of the export division of Chrysler. It is one of the more conservative designs to come out of the Exner/Ghia collaboration and was unveiled to an eager public. Plans to put the car into production were considered for a while but they never came to fruition.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2010