Ghia Supersonic

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Ghia
Ghia Supersonic on Fiat 8V
Ghia Supersonic on Fiat 8V
Supersonic
Production period: 1953-1956
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupe
Engines: Petrol engines
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :

Ghia Supersonic was a small series of cars built on different chassis from different manufacturers. The origin of the series was a body for a racing car that Giovanni Savonuzzi designed and built as a one-off for Virgilio Conrero . After the car was destroyed in its first race, Ghia decided to take the design and continue building it as a series of sports cars. In the period from 1953 to 1956, an unknown number, probably no more than 20, more Supersonics were created.

prehistory

After Chuck Yeager was the first to break the sound barrier with the Bell X-1 in 1947 , the supersonic age began. In the following years the design of various things in daily life was influenced by it. Many designers wanted to reflect the shape of fast airplanes and rockets, which is perceived as modern, in their work, including Giovanni Savonuzzi when designing the sports car for Virgilio Conrero.

Conrero Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint

In the run-up to the 20th Mille Miglia, the Swiss men's driver Robert Fehlmann approached the Turin-based tuner for Alfa Romeo and Lancia vehicles, Virgilio Conrero, with the request to build him a special racing car for the upcoming race. As a result, Conrero first developed a racing car chassis. He chose parts from the Fiat 1400 for the front suspension and parts of the Lancia Aurelia for the rear suspension . He used an Alfa Romeo 1900 as the engine , which he heavily modified and equipped with four Dell'Orto carburetors. The transaxle power transmission was also taken over by the Lancia Aurelia. Conrero commissioned his friend Giovanni Savonuzzi to develop the body. Savonuzzi, known from Cisitalia , had just become chief developer for bodywork at Ghia. He designed a streamlined body with a long bonnet, a squat passenger compartment and a short tail. The sideline resembled a fast airplane or a rocket, tapered in front and with a nozzle in the back. The roof was reminiscent of an airplane cockpit and had a rear window that reached up to the front window and gave the impression of a glass canopy.

The first public presentation took place at the Turin Motor Show in 1953. The car was one of the great attractions there. The car made its second public appearance at the Mille Miglia when it started with the number 453. He had an accident in the race and burned out. The body, which was probably partly made of aluminum, was so badly damaged that it could not be saved.

However, the chassis and engine were still used. Conrero revised the engine and designed a Spider body for the chassis. The racing car, now known as Conrero Sport or Conrero Alfa Romeo Sport, drove with start number 511 and was driven by Fehlmann in the 1954 Mille Miglia again. There he carried a plexiglass pulpit that was later no longer used.

Whereabouts

In 2013 the Conrero Sport was shown at the Salon Rétromobile in Paris.

Ghia Supersonic on Fiat 8V

After the destruction of the Conrero Alfa-Romeo and the strong interest at the presentation in Turin, the management of Ghia decided to revive the design as a small series. The choice of chassis fell on the Fiat 8V, although Ghia has just built another coupé on its basis. The shape of the vehicle was changed only slightly, mainly to match the different chassis. The only big difference was the rear window. It no longer went as far as the windshield, but was designed as a normal rear window. Now known as the Ghia Supersonic, it was presented at the 1953 Paris Motor Show and voted the most beautiful car on show.

Depending on the source, up to 15 Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic were made. None of these cars are one hundred percent the same as the other, since customer requests were taken into account as far as possible during construction.

Whereabouts

Since it is not clear how many Supersonics were built, only an overview of those shown at exhibitions can be made.

Chassis
number 		colour Where exhibited
106.000035 Burgundy Gooding & Company auction in Scottsdale 2011
106.000036 Red metallic Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2017
106.000037 silver Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2007
106.000040 Burgundy Zoute Concours d'Elegance 2016
106.000043 White Rétromobile in Paris 2018
106.000049 turquoise RM Sotheby's auction 2017
106.000055 black Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2011
unknown silver Techno Classica 2011 Essen
unknown red Car museum at Khao Yai in Thailand 2018
unknown unknown Willment 427 Coupe, 2010 The Cartier Style at Luxe at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Willment 427 Coupe

The only really certain information about the car is that it was built. The comprehensive story is told in the same way in the various sources, but the details of the narratives differ from one another.

John Willment , racing team owner and at the time the largest British Ford dealer, had a Supersonic body built on an AC 427 Cobra chassis in 1965. The body is said to come from a no longer roadworthy Fiat 8V Supersonic. He bought the chassis from Shelby at a time when the latter had stopped producing Cobra-based coupé racing cars. In order to be able to place the body on the chassis, the structure had to be heavily modified. According to a sales advertisement from the 1970s, the resulting super sports car is said to have a Holman & Moody engine with approx. 480 hp and a top speed of 320 km / h. Since then, the coupe has been offered for sale several times.

Whereabouts

In 2010 the Willment 427 Coupe was shown at The Cartier Style at Luxe at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

  • Fiat 8V Supersonic

  • Fiat 8V Supersonic

  • View of the interior of a Fiat 8V Supersonic

  • Willment 427 Coupe

Ghia Supersonic on Jaguar XK 120

Jaguar XK 120 Supersonic

A total of three Jaguar XK120s are said to have been equipped with a Supersonic body. Two of them were converted at Ghia at the request of a French Jaguar dealer. Both vehicles are left-hand drive. One of the cars has the chassis number 679768 and was built as a coupé by Jaguar in 1952. Not only did it get the Supersonic structure, but Conrero revised the engine and installed three Weber twin carburettors. In 1954, the Ghia-bodied and then white XK was shown at the Paris Motor Show.

The second Jaguar was significantly modified over the years in terms of the radiator grille, bonnet, fenders and exhaust system. He also received two wipers on the rear window. Nothing is known about the third car.

Whereabouts

Only two XK Supersonic are known.

Chassis
number 		License plate colour Where exhibited
679768 69BJ75 Burgundy RM Sotheby's Monterey Auction 2015
unknown 8763 KA 69 blue Geneva Classic 2007

Ghia Supersonic on Aston Martin DB2 / 4 Mark II

The DB2 / 4 Supersonic was exhibited for the first time at the Turin Motor Show in 1956. It is the last vehicle with the design. Aston Martin and Ghia do not provide any specific information about the initiative to build. It appears that the car was made at a private request. Even so, Ghia officially issued it in 1956. It is assumed that the racing driver Harry Schell gave the order; because he was the first to be seen with the vehicle in 1956. He used the car during this time to drive to the racetracks, where he worked as a driver for Vanwall . Since the DB2 / 4 has a 2 + 2 seating arrangement, the Supersonic body had to be changed accordingly. A closer look at the side surfaces in comparison to the Fiat and Jaguar Supersonics reveals stylistic differences.

Whereabouts

In 2013, the Aston Martin DB2 / 4 Mark II Supersonic with chassis number AM300 / 1/1132 was auctioned at RM Sotheby's Art of the Automobile for $ 2,310,000.

DeSoto Adventurer II

DeSoto Adventurer II

In early 1954, a Supersonic on a Fiat chassis was imported to Chrysler in the USA. Virgil Exner , the chief designer, took the vehicle as a base and developed a design for the Chrysler S-19 chassis. Then everything was shipped to Ghia in Italy and the designed body was built there. When it was completed, everything came back to the US and the car was unveiled as the DeSoto Adventurer II on June 16, 1954 at the opening of Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds (a development and testing site in Chelsea, Michigan). After this premiere the car was brought back to Italy and Ghia exhibited it in Turin and Brussels in 1954.

The S-19 chassis was equipped with a DeSoto Red Ram HEMI V8 engine and a two-stage Powerflite automatic. The body built by Ghia based on the design by Exner corresponds in the broadest sense to the Supersonic design. Since the vehicle is much larger than the rest of the Supersonics, the shape had to be adjusted accordingly. The interior is in the Italian style. Despite its size, the Adventurer II is only a two-seater. A special feature is the retractable rear window.

Whereabouts

In 2012, the DeSoto Adventurer II with chassis number 14093762 sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale for $ 1,430,000.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Road & Track, October 1965, p. 45
  2. ↑ 1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 Supersonic Conrero (Ghia) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  3. ↑ The Fiat 8V Supersonic and its predecessor Conrero-Alfa-Romeo website from Zwischengas.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  4. ↑ 1954 Postcards From The Past Website of Unique Cars and Parts. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  5. ↑ Salon Rétromobile 2013 website from Arthomobiles.fr. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  6. ↑ a b Ghia Supersonic - futuristic supersonic design on a Swiss initiative website from Zwischengas.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  7. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic road test website from Drive-my.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  8. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic website from Gooding & Company. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  9. ↑ Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic website from Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  10. ↑ Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic website from Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  11. ↑ Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic website from Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  12. ↑ Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic website from Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  13. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia website from RM Sotheby's. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  14. ↑ Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic website from Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  15. ↑ Techno Classica 2011 - Eating out website from Carpassion.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  16. ↑ Museum Classics: 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia - Fiat's Only A-Lister website from Curbside Classic. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  17. ↑ a b c Supersonic Designs by Ghia (1953-56) Web site of the Net Cars Show. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  18. ↑ 679768 website of XK Data. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  19. ↑ a b 1952 Jaguar XK120 Supersonic by Ghia website from RM Sotheby's. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  20. ↑ Ghia Supersonic Jaguar XK120 website from COACHBUILD.COM. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  21. ↑ JAGUAR XK 120 GHIA SUPERSONIC 1954 au GENEVA CLASSICS 2007 website from Passionautomobile.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  22. ↑ a b 1956 Aston Martin DB2 / 4 Mk II 'Supersonic' by Carrozzeria Ghia website from RM Sotheby's. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  23. ↑ a b 1954 Desoto Adventurer II Coupe Saturday Lot # 5002.1 Barrett-Jackson website. Retrieved September 29, 2018
  24. ↑ De Soto Adventurer II 1954 website of CLASSIC CAR RATINGS.COM. Retrieved September 29, 2018