Reader Guy H recently messaged us with a find a friend of his had made in Israel and I have to admit, I had no idea what it was! Clearly someone turned it into their own version of the Batmobile, but prior to their customization work, it was a very rare and impressive machine. Guy let me guess what it was, but I had to give up and he finally revealed what it is. I had such a great time trying to figure it out, that I thought I’d let you guys take a crack at guessing what it is! If no one is able to figure it out right away, I will get on and start giving out clues in the comment section! Good luck guys! Special thanks to Guy and his friend Yakir Even Z for sharing this with us.
Lancia? Body Style with a V8 ? mmmh..
Not a Lancia, but it is Italian!
I don’t have the Book on Hand,ISO build one that Style,I think it was called a Lele???
Great guess, but not an Iso
I think i might be an Dual Ghia!
ghia 450ss
WILL is correct about, it’s a GHIA 450SS coupe
Real question is, taking it back to original styling cues and what that would cost. properly done these are great fast road touring cars with style and muscle done properly.
You just need to find an early ’70s Celica to donate its front end to get this back to stock.
Studebaker
Not a Studebaker, but good guess!
I dunno, but those remind me of kaiser tail lights. Crazy car. Neat tho.
The fins and upper set of taillights were added by whoever tried to turn it into the Batmobile.
Mercedes SL?
Nope, good guess though!
Was it once something designed by Michelotti? Fiat-based?
OK, Italian….obviously not a Mercedes…
Ferrari
It wasn’t built in Maranello, so it’s not a Ferrari. You’re getting closer though!
Is this an ISO GRIFO?
Nope, keep guessing though!
Thought it was a Gordon Keeble at first glance, but the back is puzzling me! It’s a bit of a mish mash if you ask me! Maserati, Lancia, Chrysler?? Bit of Corvette paintwork aswell!!
The logo on the right side of the dashboard looks like Maserati.
It’s not a Maserati either
The grill looks like Lancia the roof like an early Mustang the back end is too hideous to be Italian so my guess is a one off, the Fuggedaboutit
I don’t k n ow what it is but to bad they had to wreck what looked like a cool car.
De Tomaso Longchamp?
Momo Mirage 2+2 ? :-)
Alexis, that’s what I thought too, until I looked at the dashboards. But we’ll see what Josh says.
’65 or ’66 Mustang
My guess too, the roof lines
alfa c8
A Fiat coupe, maybe a Fiat Dino, but the rear of the greenhouse on this Isralei special is too square and un-Italian.
And those Henry J tail lights and all the other lights and do-dads just hurt my eyes. Need some real dark glasses, the kind Enzo wore. That would fix things….cut down how much of this I could see.
lamborghini 400
At first glance I was thinking Ferrari, but isn’t that a small block Chrysler v8, maybe a 318 and I’m sure that’s a Chrysler alternator.
And Chrysler Interior trim – I thought Monteverdi, but that’s Swiss. Maybe a Frua one off?
As a side note – I never realized how much I really dig Monterverdi’s and Frua’s till I did all this research!
Lamborghini Islero?
Sorry Jamie, it’s not a Lambo
Looks like a Fuglyni.
Or maybe a Bastardinetta.
Intermeccanica ? Not sure what type though.
Fuglyni! LMAO, I’ll have to keep that for future reference, thanks
Small block mopar,Mopar shifter,Kaiser upper tail lights,Motorhome front head light bessles .Side markers tell me its 1969 or newer.looks like a piece together car.
I was thinking the headlights came from a Checker. . .
Monteverdi?
Not a Jensen? Fergusen (sp?) is second choice, I suppose.
wow, Im stumped ….even with the google I cant seem to find a match for that greenhouse
Ghia 450SS??
We’ve got a winner!!!!
Some kind of Ghia? Or designed by Ghia?
It is a Ghia!
Is it a Jensen?
Think Jamie got it…Islero
Detomaso Longchamp ?
Good guess, but not quite right
Rolls Royce Boxer
Intermeccanica
Ah just seen this after posting my second comment.
Is it some kind of Lotus?
Nope it isn’t a Lotus, but that’s a good guess!
Intermeccanica only about the Hardtop Style and Frameless Door Glas,nothing else does match
That sure looks like a Chrysler 318 to me. Rounded bell housing pattern, rear distributor, oil pressure sender right beside the distributor and Siamesed center exhaust ports.
If it weren’t for the fact he keeps saying it is Italian made, I would guess Facel-Vega.
A disimproved, Plymouth V8 powered 1967 Ghia 450SS Spyder by Giugiaro
http://www.carscoops.com/2010/07/ebay-find-giugiaro-plymouth-v8-powered.html#more
Thanks for the photo of one in original condition Dolphin!
We can all see where Toyota cribbed the front end for the first Celica from.
And the 1970 Torino was influenced by it to.
Maybe an Alfa Romeo with the front grill changed to hide the signature triangle and its emblem
Nope, but it definitely has had a lot of work done to it
Whatever it is, it looks like it spent some time in Tijuana…
Spent time? It looks like it did time…
The profile of the front fenders remind me of a Bizzarrini.
^ yup, Dolphin….think you nailed it
Ghia 450. look at the fenders….
Looks like a customized mish-mash of different vehicles.. I can’t make out the nameplate on the rt side of the dash.. (:
A serious marriage of sorts, looks like a Hotus, (cross between a Hudson and a Lotus) ..would have to wear some very dark glasses to drive this around
Dolphin got it. The center console, and the underhood pics are a match.
^ yup, Dolphin….think you nailed it
Thought jamie had it but the Ghia looks like its what this Batmobile once was
so far the Ghia 450 looks very close to it
Lots of great guesses guys! It looks like Tom was the first one to figure out what it is! It is a Ghia 450SS! Of course, it has had a few unfortunate modifications made to it.
Wow that car looks so much better unaltered….what a shame
Yugo
Mustang with Torino grill, Kaiser taillights , Cadillac/Batmobile fins, and a sorry mistake. (smile) I’d say let the seller keep the car.
That car was made for Batman down in Austrailia.
Steady on Frankie, we do have a little pride in the cars we drive down here, and anyone in that ‘thing’ would have to be feeling like a true ‘wanker’. We do like American cars, I’ve got 2, so we do appreciate them even though they tend to be “in your face” compared to the European stuff. We can only register LHD cars over 25 to 30 years old so we only have the good 50’s to 70’s stuff mainly with some 80’s thrown in.
Tony C.
Space shuttle?
It was a great exercise. Found a lot of cars I never hear about before including the winning Ghia 450SS :)
I think the car looks like a custom Willys. It has 1953 Kaiser tail lights.
Will I guessed that make wrong, but I still say it has 1953 Kaiser tail lights. What do you think?
I was going to suggest that it started life out as a Sabra……I see the Ghia now though….long road traveled to get here…..
Whoever did that to this car oughta be arrested.
I enjoyed that! Even if I didn’t have a clue, it got me searching through images on google. Work gets in the way!
oh, the humanity…….
Looks like American-made Gaylord of the early 50’s.
Akchully, sence im pretty good at car’s id say it was a 1959 Mustang 4-door Hardtop Sedan.
Lagonda?
One can only hope criminal charges are pending against the sadistic SOB that perpetrated this crime against good taste…
Ghia 450SS! Of COURSE! Now that I know it I can see…the corvair headlights, the massive radiator grille and, the most distinctive feature, those bulbous fins! Why didn’t I see it?!??
I was surprised to see that the coves in the front fenders are factory original!
It’s a Wopeedo! My cuzzin Vinnie’s ride. (No haters please, just a joke)
I enjoyed all the guessing and commentary on this ‘automotive unicorn’. Lots of good humor !!! And my ‘black plate’ t-shirt came today…Thanx !!!
Looks like an Avanti made by hand in Indiana by hand with whatever fabric the customer wanted..The Company Used Studebaker parts from the Original Leftover Parts of the Closed Factory’s…
I like the pointy Avanti,
Fox body
Its a Susita
Looks like a turd to me, one persons dream. For me i reminds of a dream i had when i ate pizza too late one night.