1967 Ghia 450 SS

The Ghia 450 SS Spyder was the work of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro during his association with the Italian design studio and coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Ghia in the mid-1960s. Carrozzeria Ghia was founded by Giacinto Ghia in Turin in 1919, and quickly established a reputation for both luxury coachwork and competition bodies. World War II was a difficult period for the company, as its founder passed away and its factory was damaged due to the wartime conflict. When peacetime resumed, Ghia quickly returned to its place at the forefront of Italian coachbuilding and collaborated with many of the world's leading car manufacturers and is one of the few coachbuilding companies that have survived to this day, although in later years this was because of Ford ownership. The 450 Ss model was built during the days when the company was still independent and was one of the last Ghia - if not the very last - Ghia-produced automobiles prior to the Ford takeover.

The Ghia 450 was the brainchild of entrepreneur and Hollywood producer Burt Sugarman who had seen a Fiat-based Ghia GT on the March 1965 cover of Road & Track magazine. It was a svelt GT-style concept car that used the production Fiat 2100 sedan chassis for its underpinnings and was first displayed in 1960 at the Turin Show. Sugarman eventually convinced Ghia to put the car into series production.

Instead of Italian mechanical components, Sugarman envisioned the car powered by the Chrysler small-block V8 engine and proven underpinnings of the Plymouth Barracuda Formula S. During the 1950s and early 1960s, roughly the era when Virgil Exner was head of styling at Chrysler, the two companies had a close partnership working on several notable concepts and low-production cars such as the Dual-Ghia, Norseman Concept, Ghia Specials, and the Imperial Crown Limousines.

The Giugiaro-designed steel bodywork featured compound-curved panels with wraparound front and rear chrome bumpers. The chassis was a unique setup formed by a pair of longitudinal tubular frame members, in concert with a strong semi-monocoque bodyshell. The Chrysler Commando 273 cubic-inch V8 engine with a single Carter carburetor produced 235 horsepower and was backed by a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. The suspension, brakes, and many other components were sourced from the Chrysler bin. Borrani wire wheels wrapped with Pirelli 'Cinturato' high-speed tires were placed at all four corners. The interior featured leather-clad bucket seats, wool carpeting, air-conditioning, Ghia copper trim rings, Eames-style bucket seats, and a functional dash containing a comprehensive assortment of instrumentation. Standard equipment included power steering, power brakes, and Chrysler's torsion bar Rallye suspension.

It is believed that 52 (some sources state as high as 57) standard-powered Ghia vehicles were hand-built between 1966 and 1967. These cars were delivered new in the United States through a single dealer in Beverly Hills, California at a base price of over $11,800. This staggering sum was comparable to the most expensive Rolls-Royce, Maserati, and Ferrari of the era. A Barracuda at the time was $3,000, and the base price of the 450 SS was more than double the price of a new Corvette. Due to the cost and exclusivity, it is no surprise that many of the Ghia motorcars were originally owned by celebrities, including Wilt Chamberlain and Johnny Carson. A factory hardtop and a manual transmission were on the list of optional equipment.

The hand-built Ghia 450SS was the combination of avant-garde European styling by the Ghia design house and the performance pedigree of American Crysler mechanical components. It went beyond being a re-bodied Plymouth Barracuda Formula S, with its own chassis configuration, and a well-constructed steel body acting as a rigid semi-monocoque.

26 examples are known to be in existence.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2020