When most of us hear the name Ghia, the first car that pops into mind is the VW Karmann Ghia, but Carrozzeria Ghia built a number of incredibly beautiful cars over the years. This 1967 Ghia 1500 GT is one of 864 built and one of about 36 cars imported into the US. Since Ghia didn’t produce their own engines, this one is powered by a Fiat 1500, which can be found in a number of different cars including the Siata 1500. It really is a beautiful car and is said to be in nice overall shape. You can find it here on eBay in Mahopac, New York with a current bid of $22k and the reserve met!
This looks like an older restoration, but it looks to be in decent shape. The seller notes that the floors have been previously repaired, but the car is otherwise solid. I love the color combo, especially with the gold stripe. The seller notes that they have the Ghia front badge, but they haven’t installed it yet. With that installed, this car will look great and be one heck of a conversation starter.
The Fiat 1500 is a robust little engine with some performance potential waiting to be unlocked. Parts are quite easy to find for it, including performance bits. It’s currently paired to a 5 speed, so it should be a comfortable driver. I currently have a spare Fiat 1800 block sitting in my garage and I won’t lie, I would be tempted to swap it out for the 1500 (keeping the original engine with the car of course). This would be one hot little machine then!
As beautiful as the outside of this car is, I’m a bit disappointed with the interior. Don’t get me wrong, it looks nice enough, but it lacks the kind of fit and finish once would expect from a car this beautiful. It really is the only area of this car that needs attention to be a real show stopper. There are other Ghia 1500 GTs out there that have already had their interiors redone and brought up to the level you might expect to find in a car like this to use for inspiration.
This really is a special car and hopefully it goes to a good home. I sure would love to have it, but sadly it’s a little out of my budget. Considering what it is though, the current high bid doesn’t seem unrealistic. What do you think of this Fiat Ghia? Would you redo the interior and upgrade the engine or would you just leave it alone and enjoy it as is?
Eight days left. This bidding has a long way to go beyond 22k.
Beautiful car except the spoke wheel covers. Real wires would be so much better.
“Karmin” Ghia?
No, but it’s one Charmin’ Ghia
You will be hearing from the Thought Police soon.
hard to believe that twin cam 1800 would fit under that beautifully sloping hood.
…or. An Alfa 1500 with Webers.
And, since I”m dreaming, some alloy Borannis.
Looks like a 260-280 zx but get rid of Walmart hubcaps
There were a number of small GT cars made by Italian carmakers. The one that looks most like this Ghia is the ASA 1000GT (above), a car that Ferrari had a big hand in but declined to call a Ferrari. That was the era when Enzo called the shots, and “A Ferrari is a 12 cylinder car”.
The Ghia and ASA look so much alike you would think they were either the same basic car or designed by the same designer, but apparently not. The ASA was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone….around 1961.
And this Ghia is a 1967 model…Hmmmm….
Giugiaro was the head of Ghia’s design from 1965 to 1968, and this being a 1967 model…Hmmm…
Expand on your concern with the interior, please.
all the instruments look all modern and too plastic
Not a Ghia GT expert here, but those appear to be Veglia (I could be wrong) instruments and correct application for this car. However the interior is sloppy, the dash pad is crudely tucked in at the edges. I’d spend a few bucks on the interior to make it right. But then again with less than a 1000 of these built and God only knows how many are left in the collectors’ hands, if you want one there isn’t much of choice out there….
I really wish I could unsee those wire wheelcovers!
There is some wonkiness inside; the dashcover, some wavy looking trim work and yeah, those gauge bezels.
Beautiful lines. The floor pan to frame welds remind me of a cheap kit car though…
What a pretty little car!
Those gauges are original.
All Carrozerrias are all not equal. I don’t know if the body is based off of any stampings or not probably so with that many made. While we all think hand built its higher quality that’s not always the case. I’ve seen several Lancia cars some by Zagoto that were abismal to work on. The fit is quiet often massaged into place. Don’t think for a second they didn’t use filler in places as many did. With an aluminum body the differences from car to car become appearent. I still lust after many of these cars but Hey Zues don’t ever get hit or wreck it…
Door alignments and other many other little bits are a real pita to sort. Ridgidity is another factor for many when a chassis was delivered and cut down structure can be lost. I have ridden in a Zagoto car and while stunning beautiful it lacked what it’s donor offered in handling w/o question.
I’d love to see this car, in person, on the lift and especially on the road.
Ghia > ASA in the looks department, anyway.
Burzel, I can’t argue with personal opinion. Yours is just as good as mine. However, important factor in preference between the two is that Bizzarrini fine tuned the suspension on the ASA. The dash on ASA is much more professionally executed as well and of course don’t forget the origins of the ASA’s engine. I guess this is a perfect example of beauty being only skin deep….