Carrozzeria Ghia was founded in Turin, Italy, a century ago. Crafting sleek aluminum bodies for Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Fiat, the company became an arbiter of automotive style. A carousel of corporate owners and designers did not diminish the company’s influence; in fact, partnerships with Chrysler and Volkswagen boosted its fortunes. Toiling for clients, with its brand buried behind those headline manufacturers, eventually tempted the company to make its own production model. Around this time – in the early 1960s – Fiat was blanketing the market with sedans, coupes, and convertibles – creating a lush selection of chassis available to the artistic inclinations of the era’s coachbuilders. Among the tide of new cars was the Fiat 1500 berlina, a family car being made right in Turin. After shortening its chassis and adopting the 1500’s mechanicals, Ghia designer Sergio Sartorelli constructed an aerodynamic body that would slot the new car into the “sporty GT” niche. While Ghia planned to make 3000 GTs, total production from 1962 through 1966 came to only 846 examples. Here on eBay is this ’65 Ghia GT, priced at $59,000 or best offer. It’s located in Dallas, Texas, but it’s more worldly than its current berth implies….
This example is a two-owner car, purchased originally in South Africa and imported to New Zealand. The seller acquired it in 2015, importing it to the US. He never re-registered the car, so it still carries its overseas plate and title. The engine is a 1,481-cc four, straight out of Fiat’s family car. Output is about 7o hp. The transmission is a four-speed manual; overdrive was optional. The car sits on 15″ wheels, larger than the berlina’s thirteen-inchers. Handling is decent, but the car was considered underpowered.
This car has undergone a color change from silver to metallic blue, but you wouldn’t know it from the door jambs. The interior is a notch above the Fiat product, and options like leather seating, a radio, and a Nardi steering wheel could make it even more luxurious. The seller notes that the car has spent time in his personal collection, so its running condition is a question mark.
On the prosaic side of the ledger, Sartorelli’s styling was aided by wind tunnel tests. But considered aesthetically, we find elements of far more famous cars – Ferrari, most notably. That said, the Ghia GT has its own personality, with a grille surround that forms its bumper, diminutive dimensions, and asymmetrical vents on its front flanks. While pretty, the car’s underpinnings derive from a Fiat, and a family car at that. The pricing heyday for coachbuilt-anything was in the 2015-2016 time frame, when minor-league specialty Fiats, such as TV Trasformabiles, Jollys, and Fiat-Abarth cars, routinely sold for six figures. Fast forward a few years, and this fine Ghia GT in running condition failed to sell at $40k. While today’s offering has merits, the price will need an adjustment to make it attractive to today’s buyers.
This is a really nice looking car. I don’t ever remember seeing one of these in person, and quite a far cry from the Fiat 500 Adam wrote up a few cars down from this one. The South Africa history is very interesting, and it was liked well enough to pay good money to bring it over to the States. I like the interior design a lot, the dash, steering wheel and seats have a sporting look about them. It will be interesting to see what it sells for.
Agree on all points, Dave. To have the ability to transform a very pedestrian car base into a svelte and appealing model like this takes a personal, artistic talent we rarely see. What a beauty, and even with its common beginnings it’s a score above its mechanical origins.