That is a good-looking car, even today

[j-c-c-62]

Scroll down a page or two:

1952 Chrysler d’Elegance Coupe​

MSN

Well done Virgil

 

[Coelacanth]

Very interesting...I wonder if George Barris was inspired by the d'Elegance Coupe's front end when he came up with his custom design for The Car. The recessed eye-socket headlights and tall, raised & rounded front fenders are very similar.

 

[WileE]

 

[69 Sleeper Bee]

@Coelacanth

The movie The Car was directly inspired by the concept of an evil, indestructible, and demonic vehicle. While the movie's specific story details are original, it taps into the universal fear of mundane objects becoming sinister and reflects on the destructive power of the automobile. The car itself is a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III, modified by George Barris, with a distinct skull-like front grill, embodying the film's pure evil aesthetic.

 

[Coelacanth]

Yep, I knew it was based on a Lincoln, but seeing that pic of the d'Elegance Coupe sure makes me think there was some additional inspiration. I'm sure there weren't many of those Coupes to build a car off of. Lincolns, however...aplenty.

 

[Richard Cranium]

From the windshield back..........

 

[Coelacanth]

There was a guy from Vancouver who is restoring a '69 and '70 Charger R/T and has a 20+ car collection, he came over to buy some inside door panels for one of his Chargers...he showed me a pic of his Chrysler Ghia. Not sure of the exact year, but 50's. It shares the same body lines as these other cars. I'd never heard of a Chrysler Ghia.

I told him he needed to register on this site.

 

[YY1]

Ghia is an Italian body designer/builder like Pininfarina and Bertone.

 

[Dave6T4]

View attachment 1908175

From the windshield back..........
View attachment 1908174

Both styled by Ghia. Pretty obvious smaller copy of the Chrysler from the windshield, back.

 

[eldubb440]

what year was the earliest Ghia?

 

[j-c-c-62]

View attachment 1908175

From the windshield back..........
View attachment 1908174

Actually, maybe from a just the front foot back?

 

[DeltaV]

The VW Karmann Ghia was based on one of Virgil Exner's Chrysler concepts.
The Chrysler D'Elegance, designed by Exner and built by Italian coachbuilder Ghia, was a one-off concept car in 1952. Ghia was so impressed with the design that its chief, Luigi Segre, developed a scaled-down version for Volkswagen. The resulting VW Karmann Ghia was a successful and long-running production vehicle.

 

[DeltaV]

Taking it further...

Ghia's influence on the Volvo P1800 was indirect but crucial, as the design was created by Pelle Petterson, Pietro Frua's student at Frua, a subsidiary of Ghia. While Volvo initially credited Frua, they later recognized Petterson's role in developing the P1800's stylish Italian-influenced body, which was a key factor in the car's success and iconic status.

There's that word again...iconic.

 

[RemCharger]

what year was the earliest Ghia?

They opened in 1916