1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400

This car, Lot 117, sold for $819,000, including buyer’s premium, at Bonhams’ Scottsdale auction on January 27, 2023.

Despite the impact of the streamlined Chrysler Thunderbolt and Newport show cars in 1941, Chrysler Corporation’s post-war offerings were smallish, boxy and unimaginative. The chief obstacle was K.T. Keller, the company’s CEO, who possessed a stern, practical streak that eschewed artistic style.

Years ago, former Chrysler designer Arnott “Buzz” Grisinger told me, “We cringed when Mr. Keller came into the studio. After perusing a sleek new styling study, he sneered to the hopeful designers, ‘We build cars to sit in, not to piss over.’”

When Chrysler sales predictably faltered, then nosedived, Keller had the sense to retain Virgil Exner, an artistic genius who rivaled GM’s Harley Earl. Exner used his Italian connections with Carrozzeria Ghia to build dramatic concept cars that revolutionized the look of Chrysler production models.

Italian style

Established in Turin, Italy, in 1926, Carrozzeria Ghia had a hard-won reputation for beautiful road-going and competition car bodies. It also provided the training ground for many of Italy’s rising-star designers — Giovanni Michelotti, Felice Mario Boano, and Pietro Frua all contributed to its success.

Exner commissioned two bespoke show cars, which were displayed on a Ghia show stand at the Torino Motor Show. The Dart came in 1956 and the Super Dart followed in 1957.

The first Dart was an evolution of the Ghia Gilda, a sleek, full-sized styling mockup by Ghia’s Luigi Segre and Dr. Giovanni Savonuzzi that evolved from aerodynamic “mules” that were extensively tested at the Turin Politecnico. With a drag coefficient of just 0.17, the Dart was reportedly more efficient than the radical Bertone BAT 5. A pair of massive vertical tail fins helped stabilize the coupe at high speeds. After 85,000 miles of track testing, the first Dart, a 2+2 with a unique retractable hard top, returned to Ghia, where it became a full convertible called the Dart Diablo.

Its successor, the Super Dart 400, was based on a 1957 Chrysler 300C chassis. Dramatically styled, its stretched oval grille with vertical bars and quad headlights segued into a thin chrome reveal that ran rearwards on each side of the sleek coupe’s flanks and tapered wheelarches, then wrapped completely around the body, meeting below the trunk line. A low and wide hood scoop fed cold air to a 392-ci Chrysler Hemi V8 with the “Power Pack” option, which included a 10:1 compression ratio and two 4-barrel carburetors, producing 400 horsepower.

The transmission was a push-button TorqueFlite automatic and front disc brakes were fitted. Inside, four individual bucket seats flanked a full-length console. Fully equipped with power windows, air conditioning and a “Highway HiFi” record player, the Super Dart was finished in a soft yellow hue and topped with a black Nappa leather roof.

Back in the USA

Following its unveiling at the 1957 Turin Motor Show, the Super Dart 400 came to the U.S. and was sold to Gene Casaroll’s Dual Motors. It was briefly rebadged as a Dual-Ghia for display at the 1958 New York Auto Show. During the show, Casaroll was approached with an offer to buy the car for a reported $15,000 — a great deal of money at the time, the equivalent of $155,000 today. The buyer, Alex Freeman, became the Super Dart’s first private owner, but he could not take possession of the car for a year, because it was committed to other shows around the country.

Under Freeman’s ownership, the Super Dart 400 was driven quite regularly, amassing about 38,000 miles over almost 20 years. The car was next purchased in the 1970s by Packard-spares guru Fred Kanter, who kept the car for 40 years, showing it occasionally. I recall seeing it at the Elegance at Hershey Concours when Fred owned it, and it was a traffic-stopper, still in nearly perfect original condition.

The Super Dart 400 was purchased by John White’s Ramshead Collection a few years ago, still preserved and never restored or even repainted. After White’s passing, the car was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, winning a Class Award in the Post-War Preservation Class. A virtual time capsule, this one-of-a-kind, three-owner show car remains in its original condition with just under 50,000 miles on its odometer.

Value proposition

The question is, of course, whether it is worth the $819k paid. Absolutely.

Its rarity is unimpeachable, as it’s truly the only one. Yet it still boasts an important lineage, descended as it is from the Ghia Gilda and Chrysler Dart. This remarkable car looks just like it did when it was a show car in 1957 and 1958. Originality fetches a premium these days, and this car is well documented and validated by its Pebble Beach Preservation Class win.

By comparison, on the same day, Bonhams sold a Ghia-built 1954 Chrysler GS-1 from the same collection for $802,500. That car is one of nine produced (five extant) and has been fully restored.

The Super Dart 400 is a monument to the exciting Virgil Exner era at Chrysler, where the combination of smart American design and elegant Italian craftsmanship influenced car styling worldwide. Cars like this rarely come up for sale, and as such, I thought it would crack the million-dollar mark. Thus, this car should be considered well bought and its new owner should be pleased. ♦

(Introductory description courtesy of Bonhams.)