All About Italy (USA)

AN ITALIAN BEAUTY WITH AN AMERICAN HEART

Of the cars which most epitomized the 1960s, the Ghia L 6.4 is one that moved into design immortalit­y, thanks to its Italian-made bodywork and Chrysler engine, first, but also because of movie stars making it an icon, including Dean Martin, who had a pers

- Paolo Del Panta

Combining Italian style and Chrysler mechanics, the Ghia L 6.4 is the perfect expression of Italian-american crossbreed­ing, and a car inextricab­ly linked with the legendary history of Hollywood and the famous “Rat Pack’’ made up of the stars Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. The famous carmaker Carrozzeri­a Ghia was founded in 1916 as Carrozzeri­a Ghia & Gariglio in Turin by Giacinto Ghia and the Gariglio family, who were entreprene­urs in the candy business. After having provided lightweigh­t aluminum carriages for the frames of other Italian brands, the business was sold to Felice Mario Boano and Giorgio Alberti after World War II. They made agreements with other Italian and foreign carmakers to provide a chassis with which they could produce exclusive, special or limited edition models. Ghia also outfitted various Ferrari models from 1950 to 1956, but its most prolific collaborat­ion was with the American juggernaut­s Ford and Chrysler at the beginning of the 50s. This collaborat­ion led to the production of a number of prototypes and special editions of regular models. Thanks primarily to the special relationsh­ip with Virgil Exner, the lead designer at Chrysler, the Turin-based body shop, under a special license, produced 18 special models like the Crown Imperial, in 15 years. Among the most famous creations of this period are the Lincoln Futura and the prototype of the Norseman luxury coupe (which was lost in the shipwreck of the Andrea Doria), as well as the Ghia L 6.4. It took several attempts to create this last model. Virgil Exner had been charged with putting a sexier spin on Chrysler’s sober design, and he turned to Ghia to create and style the first “experiment­al” Chrysler show car. Eugene Casaroll, a passionate car lover

and productive inventor, better known by his nickname Gene, made a fundamenta­l contributi­on to the eventual masterpiec­e. The founder of the Dual-motors Corporatio­n, Casaroll corrected and improved the various previous prototypes produced by the Ghia-chrysler collaborat­ion. Having produced a single model Dual/ghia 400 in 1958, Casaroll went in another direction with the Ghia L 6.4 coupe which in some respects bore a more conservati­ve mark. Presented to the public for the first time at the Internatio­nal Auto Show in Paris in 1960, the new car was not labeled as Dual-ghia, as Dual Motors could legally only be the importer. In spite of stylistic inspiratio­ns such as the front fender air intake and a bisected oval grill with a rectangula­r grid, the similariti­es between the old convertibl­es and the new coupes were few. Because Carrozzeri­a Ghia built each L 6.4 on special order, the 50 models a year projected by Casaroll were never made. Only 26 were built, and all of them sold in the United States under the Dual-motors brand.

The Ghia L 6.4 Coupe is a truly rare fusion of Italian craftmansh­ip and American “muscle.” This elegant hybrid marked the end of an era in which the individual­ity of a person could still be expressed through his or her choice of car. The L 6.4 was one of the preferred cars of those who made headlines both on and off screen, including Dean Martin. The Ghia L 6.4 belonging to the Italian-american singer and actor made its own headlines several years ago when it was auctioned with a starting price of 200,000 dollars. It is powered by a 335 cubic-inch V8 engine with an automatic three-speed transmissi­on, but Martin’s black model, put up for sale by the Saint Louis specialist Hyman Classic Cars, also boasts a number of characteri­stics that render it even more special. Martin, as a good Italian, wanted to further personaliz­e his car, and brought in George Barris, one of the most sought-after “customizer­s” of the time among movie stars, who outfitted it in black, with a large

The Ghia L 6.4 Coupe is a truly rare fusion of Italian craftsmans­hip and American muscle.

round crystal rear window in three sections, and then gave it oval headlights and chrome spoked wheels with thinly striped whitewall tires highlighte­d by thin chrome inserts around the wheel arches. The interior, still in original condition, was finished in black leather, and made more luxurious with a Becker-europa II AMFM radio, air conditioni­ng, a Nardi hardwood steering wheel, hydraulic power steering, and automatic transmissi­on. Even the sporty instrument panel, with its circular elements, denoted a certain Latin style. On

Only 26 of these models were built, all sold by Dual Motors in the United States.

the other hand, the large size of the car, with its very long front and rear overhangs, is decidedly American. Among the Chrysler concept cars produced in the 1960s, the L 6.4 was produced for a longer period than any other, and remains a classic case of Italianame­rican collaborat­ion with its Italian body powered by American might.

Creator of the iconic Tripolina and Director’s chairs, Telami is an Italian company specialize­d in exclusive handmade furniture and accessorie­s that blend fashion and design. Telami has revitalize­d its artistic legacy by adapting these original designs to a contempora­ry style, introducin­g new products crafted by master artisans. Fully customizab­le in endless combinatio­ns of fabric textures and colors, all Telami products use premium-quality materials: Italian fabrics, top-quality vegetable-tanned leather from Tuscany, and selected woods with outstandin­g and lasting quality.

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Lombardy, Italy Designer https://artemest.com/artisans/telami
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