classic car

Usually cars as rare as the Dual-Ghia are lovingly restored or in perfect original condition, and almost all of them eventually end up at multiple Concours events, but occasionally one comes along that has slipped through the cracks of fanatical attention. Some of these cars were left to rot instead of being pampered, and sometimes they deserve to be left that way. This 1957 Dual-Ghia, being sold by Hyman, LTD or St. Louis, Missouri, is one such vehicle. It will probably be bound for full restoration, but the car deserves, even if never driven again, to remain in this condition as a piece of art. The car is amazingly intact with even the original convertible fabric still in place, which goes to prove the workmanship of Dual Motors and Ghia, and it should be kept the way it is for the sake of the odd beauty it has in its weathered condition.

I couldn't get any info from Hyman about how they came to acquire such a car, but it appears that it was stored indoors somewhere where most of nature couldn't get to it, such as a shed or a garage of a deteriorated old mansion on the outskirts of Vegas, where this car was born to cruise. The original Dodge V-8 seems to be completely intact, if a little dusty, and the interior is missing side panels but nothing else. The car has 40,000 (or 140,000, though not likely) miles on it, which means most of the major parts should be original to the car. The important part, the coachbuilt Ghia bodywork that tends to be expensive to replicate, seems to have only surface rust except some areas around the rear fenders, and is free of any major dents. Overall, for $39,500, a new owner could make a profit off of restoring it, as most of the unique pieces are in good condition, as well as the mechanical systems. But that, as mentioned before, is not the point. Whoever buys this car should put it on a stand as-is or clean up the motor and use it as a cool conversation piece at exotic car shows among the many restored Dual-Ghia's you'd see at a Vegas exotic car show or a Concours.

For those of you not familiar with the Dual-Ghia, it was largely influenced by the 1954 Dodge Firearrow III, Firebomb, and other Ghia-built Chrysler concepts of the Fifties. Motivated by a Dodge D-500 V-8, it was a hot performer for the time, and the body, designed and built by Ghia in Turin, Italy, was a knockdown. Original plans called for 150 units per year, but the company lost money on every one built and after creating 117 cars, 13 of which were prototypes and 2 of which were hardtops, Dual Motors ended its partnership with Ghia in 1958, two years after building its first car.

So will somebody restore this rare Dual-Ghia? Or will some relatively affluent person come along that has the mindset of barn-finders everywhere and keep it the way it is as a beautiful piece of Italian craftsmanship in deteriorated condition?