1957 Dual Ghia Sports Car Convertible

Eugene Casaroll's tribute to power and wealth was the Dual-Ghia. Mr. Casaroll had enjoyed success as a Detroit trucking magnate, particularly with the twin-engine trucks built by his Dual Motors. After Dodge had introduced a car called the Firebomb and opted not to put it into production, Mr. Casaroll purchased both the car and the rights to its design. The Firebomb Concept was an attractive vehicle and a modern evolution of the Ghia-built Firearrows of the early 1950s.

Mr. Casaroll's version of the Firearrow was known as the Dual-Ghia, a hand-built combination of Motor City-built Dodge' red Ram' V-8 power and four-passenger convertible bodywork hand-built by Ghia in Turin. They were exceptionally expensive, exclusive, and rare.

The design featured recessed headlights in an oval nose, with exotic knife-edge tailfins in the back. They were elegant without an excessive amount of trim. The craftsmanship was beautiful with exhaust attention to detail. The leather interior featured English hides over coil springs and foam rubber.

Dual-Ghia's list of clientele included Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Dorothy Kilgallen.

Over the three-year production lifespan, around 100 examples of the Dual-Ghia were built. This particular example is chassis number 145 which is believed to have been delivered new in California. Its history traces back to the 1970s when it was owned by Graham Enterprises, of Los Angeles. It then passed to Robert Irving Moe who cared for it a long time before selling it to the current caretaker.

The new owner treated the car to a restoration to concours standards. It was finished in the period-correct shade of bronze with a bright red leather interior, which was installed in the correct pattern.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2018