In the early fifties Chrysler started farming out their show car builds to Ghia. The reason was, they could have a custom body made in Italy for a fraction of what it cost to have it built in Detroit by union labor. The cars were designed in Detroit by Virgil Exner and his styling team. The blueprints were sent to Italy along with a ch***is and whatever other stock parts they needed. Never heard of Chrysler building anything but one offs and show cars. Although there was the Cunningham, the Dual Ghia and possibly other cars built by other people who had no official connection to Chrysler. Some of the show cars were sold off after they had served their purpose at car shows and as dealer displays. Chrysler could do this because their policy was to make their show cars comply with all applicable license and safety regulations. So there may be more Chrysler show cars in private collections.
Well now,if that's not a beautiful thing I just don't know what is Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have to take issue with the above statement, at least in part. The Chrysler Ghia show cars shown in post #46 may have had some Virgil Exner input, (not even certain he was with Chrysler at the beginning of this series of cars) but the overall styling is indisputably Ghia. They were a Design Studio, not just a coach builder. If you compare these Chrysler coupes with the VW Karmann/Ghia introduced a couple of years later ('56, IIRC) the body lines/roof are obviously the same lineage as the Chrysler cars 'shrunk' to VW scale. Karmann was the German body builder for VW specialty models (Beetle convertible and KG Coupe/convert) as well as for other manufacturers. I have long admired (lusted) the Ghia designed Chrysler Coupes, and the similar DeSoto Adventurer show cars, of that era. Ray
Ha ha ha Ghia used the Chrysler designed show cars as "inspiration" for the Karmann Ghia. By your timeline they built the original in 1956 and the copy in 1952. That is not how it happened. I'm sure Ghia had excellent designers but so did Chrysler. Virgil Exner joined them in 1949. They did not need any help designing cars, they contracted out the building of the cars because they could get quality work cheaper and faster in Italy.
Rusty......go have your morning coffee an reread my post. I do NOT have "my timeline" backwards......you misunderstand my premise. My point is the VW KG came AFTER the Chrysler Ghia and the styling was brought FORWARD from the Chrysler cars and scaled for the smaller VW. I am saying the primary design was Ghia's in the first place. You may may be correct about Exner's period of employment at Chrysler, but I have my doubts about that and will research it further before responding to that specific point. As for US manufacturers (including Chrysler) outsourcing designs, as well as builds, of concept cars to European designs houses, that was done several times in the '50s/early '60s. Ray
I've always liked these Chryslers. (Taken from the page) DETROIT – The first great era of Chrysler concept car creation and design came when Virgil Exner was hired away from his post at Studebaker in 1949 to develop a series of "idea cars" for Chrysler. The president of Chrysler, K.T. Keller, hired Exner to bring the company to the next level. Not long after his hiring, Exner introduced the 1950 Chrysler K-310 "idea car." Exner used "idea cars" to help influence new production vehicles. In that vein, the K-310 was designed to showcase Chrysler's upcoming revolutionary 1951 Hemi V8. http://www.uaw-chrysler.com/images/news/exner.htm
The Jalopy Journal
