Dual motors

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Dual Ghia D-500 (1957)
Prototype of the Chrysler Dual Ghia Coupe (1958)

The Dual Motors Corporation was an American automobile manufacturer that built a luxury automobile of the same name in Detroit from 1956 to 1962. Founder was Eugene Casa roll , which includes the auto transport company Automobile Shippers, Inc. was one.

history

The transportation company was one of the first and eventually the largest in the industry, working mostly for Chrysler. Dual Motors manufactured special trucks with two engines and generators for the US Air Force during World War II (hence the name).

Casa roll was extremely impressed with the Dodge - prototypes Firearrow IV , the Virgil Exner had designed for the company 1954th He acquired the rights to the construction, commissioned the bodies from Ghia in Italy and built them onto a modified Dodge chassis. The result was called Dual Ghia .

The vehicles were equipped with Dodge V8 engines. The series motor was 5162 cc and provided 230 bhp (169 kW) at 4300 min -1 . An engine with 5326 cm³ was also available on request, delivering 260 bhp (191 kW) at 4000 min −1 . A Chrysler - Powerflite -automatic the engine power was transmitted to the rear wheels. The wheelbase was 2921 mm, the total length 5169 mm. The cars, which were very fast for the time, reached a top speed of 193 km / h.

The retail price was US $ 7,741. This was less than what was charged for the Cadillac Eldorado and Lincoln Continental Mark XI competitors . However, the company lost money with every car due to the high manufacturing costs. Between 1956 and 1958, produced two two-door hardtop - coupes and 102 two-door convertible . The second generation of these cars was to be built entirely in Italy from 1961 to 1963, but again the manufacturing costs proved to be too high and finally brought the project to failure. This second dual Ghia had a V8 engine from Chrysler with a displacement of 6276 cc. Another 26 vehicles were built.

Eugene Casaroll was henceforth committed to a successor to the legendary Duesenberg . This led to the revival of the Stutz brand in 1968 .

In 2006 there were still 32 copies of the Dual Ghia.

Famous owners

The sports cars were mainly driven by stars from show business and other celebrities. Frank Sinatra , Sterling Hayden , Richard Nixon, and Desi Arnaz owned a dual ghia.

Ronald Reagan lost his car in a poker game against then US President Lyndon B. Johnson . Dean Martin drove his own dual ghia in the movie Kiss Me, Fool by Billy Wilder himself.

literature

  • John Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications, Iola 2002, ISBN 0-87349-461-X . (English)

Web links

Commons : Dual Ghia  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Web links

  1. ↑ Nick Tosches: Dino. Rat-Pack, the Mafia and the big dream of happiness . Heyne Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-453-40367-3 , p. 509.