A run of American show cars from the 1950s and 1960s came out of one Italian shop. Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin hand-built bodies for Chrysler, Dodge, Lincoln and Imperial, plus a short-lived luxury brand from Detroit. Detroit drew many of the designs, but Ghia’s craftsmen turned them into metal.

The partnership began with Chrysler. Ghia built Virgil Exner’s K-310 show car, which arrived in the United States on November 2, 1951. Chrysler chose the Italians partly for their craftsmanship and partly for a moderate cost of $10,000, according to Hagerty.

Here are six American cars that followed, from a Paris show star to a turbine-powered sedan. For each one, we note what the sources agree on and where they differ.

1. 1953 Chrysler d’Elegance

The d’Elegance debuted at the Paris Motor Show in October 1952 and counts as a 1953 model, according to RM Sotheby’s history of the car. It rode on a New Yorker chassis shortened to a 115-inch wheelbase. Up front, it also carried an evolution of the K-310’s face.

However, credit for the shape varies. Curbside Classic calls it the next stage of Exner’s Ghia specials, while RM credits Ghia designer Giovanni Savonuzzi. Both sources, along with Goodwood, tie the d’Elegance to the later Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. In fact, Curbside Classic says it “is credited with the inspiration for the Karmann Ghia.”

2. 1953–1954 Dodge Firearrow

Dodge unveiled the first Firearrow in 1953 as a rolling display model with no running gear. Public interest then led to a running Firearrow II. Both cars were “effectively designed and produced at Ghia,” according to RM Sotheby’s essay on the series.

Ghia stylist Luigi Segre drew the Firearrow III, a closed coupe powered by a 241-cubic-inch Hemi V8 rated at 150 bhp. Later, an open version became the Firearrow IV. At the opening of Chrysler’s Chelsea Proving Grounds in June 1954, Betty Skelton drove the Firearrow III to a women’s closed-course world record of 143.44 mph, the same essay notes.

3. 1955 Lincoln Futura

Ford’s show car got its body entirely at Ghia’s works in Turin in 1954. Ford stylist Bill Schmidt designed it, and the total cost came to $250,000, according to The History Blog. The Futura made its debut at the Chicago Auto Show on January 8, 1955.

Still, its second career made it famous. Ford sold the car to customizer George Barris for $1, and Barris turned it into the Batmobile for the 1966 Batman TV series. That Batmobile later sold for $4.62 million at Barrett-Jackson in January 2013, as Street Muscle reports.

4. 1956–1958 Dual-Ghia

Detroit businessman Eugene Casaroll ran Dual Motors and also shipped new cars for Chrysler. He bought the Ghia-bodied Dodge Firebomb convertible concept from Chrysler, and designer Paul Farago reworked it for production. Then Dodge D-500 chassis went to Ghia in Turin for bodies, according to The Truth About Cars.

Each car took about 200 man-hours, so output stayed small. In all, Dual Motors built 117, a figure Classic & Sports Car also gives as its estimate. That magazine lists the 315-cubic-inch Dodge V8 at 230 bhp, with a 260 bhp D-500 option. Owners also included Frank Sinatra and Desi Arnaz.

5. 1957–1965 Crown Imperial limousine by Ghia

Chrysler lacked General Motors’ deep pockets, so it handed its top limousine to Ghia. The Ghia-built Crown Imperial ran from model year 1957 through 1965, and Ghia made 132 in total, according to Hagerty. New York governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered one in 1960.

The process was slow and costly, because Ghia did the work by hand. Chrysler shipped a 129-inch-wheelbase Imperial hardtop with a reinforced X-frame to Italy. Ghia’s workers then stretched the chassis 20.5 inches to a 149.5-inch wheelbase, with about 30 days of assembly per car, as the St. Louis Car Museum describes. According to The Truth About Cars, the last Ghia car was a 1965 model for the Shah of Iran.

6. 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, bodied by Carrozzeria Ghia

Chrysler styled the Turbine Car in-house under design chief Elwood Engel. However, it contracted with Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin to build the bodies. The finished shells went to Michigan for a bespoke chassis, and Chrysler built 55 cars in total, according to Hagerty.

At first, five prototypes appeared. Afterward, a fleet of 50 in matching bronze went out on loan, and from 1963 to 1966, 203 people each drove one for three months. The restored car Hagerty profiled makes 130 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque. Chrysler scrapped most of the fleet, and Hagerty counts nine survivors, with examples at the Smithsonian, The Henry Ford and the Petersen Automotive Museum.

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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.