Photo: Mecum Auctions
The 2023 classic car auction calendar will kick off with the Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, Florida, January 4-15 and, if this is an example of what is to come in other auction house dockets, collectors are in for a real treat.
One of the standout vehicles at the Kissimmee auction is a Turin, Italy-produced 1957 Dual Ghia Convertible. Dodge chassis modified by Eugene Casaroll's Dual Motor Corporation in Detroit were shipped to Ghia in Turin, where the bodies were handmade and fitted before being returned to Dual Motors. Dual Motors would then drop in a 315 cui/260 hp/264 ps (193.9 kW) Dodge D-500 Hemi V-8 engine bolted to a Chrysler PowerFlite automatic tranny.
Production ran from 1957 to 1958 and there is some question as to how many were actually made. Experts claim that only 100 in total were produced at the most. Priced just $1000 more than the Cadillac's Eldorado Biarritz, the Dual Ghia became the ride of choice for celebrities of the day including the famous "Rat Pack".
Believed to be only 1 of 32 Dual Ghia's left in existence, this car is production No. 104, meaning it was just the fifth car of its kind to roll out of the Dual Motors factory as production numbers began at 100. The car is equipped with power steering, power brakes, power windows and a time-era Town and Country push-button radio. The hue of the Kalahari leather upholstery is a bit garish but certainly era-specific. The chrome accents throughout the interior and herring-bone instrument bezel exude the luxury of the period.
The exterior is quite stunning as well, with what appears to be a dark emerald finish described as Hazel Mist accented by chrome bumpers, white-wall tires over steel wheels with 21-vane spinner hubcaps.
No original paperwork accompanies the car and it is not known whether the 51,635 miles (83,098 kilometers) on the odometer are actual miles. To give readers an of the value, according to Sports Car Market, a 1957 sold for $456,000 in September 2021 at auction. The car is offered by Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee under Lot R614.
Production ran from 1957 to 1958 and there is some question as to how many were actually made. Experts claim that only 100 in total were produced at the most. Priced just $1000 more than the Cadillac's Eldorado Biarritz, the Dual Ghia became the ride of choice for celebrities of the day including the famous "Rat Pack".
Believed to be only 1 of 32 Dual Ghia's left in existence, this car is production No. 104, meaning it was just the fifth car of its kind to roll out of the Dual Motors factory as production numbers began at 100. The car is equipped with power steering, power brakes, power windows and a time-era Town and Country push-button radio. The hue of the Kalahari leather upholstery is a bit garish but certainly era-specific. The chrome accents throughout the interior and herring-bone instrument bezel exude the luxury of the period.
The exterior is quite stunning as well, with what appears to be a dark emerald finish described as Hazel Mist accented by chrome bumpers, white-wall tires over steel wheels with 21-vane spinner hubcaps.
No original paperwork accompanies the car and it is not known whether the 51,635 miles (83,098 kilometers) on the odometer are actual miles. To give readers an of the value, according to Sports Car Market, a 1957 sold for $456,000 in September 2021 at auction. The car is offered by Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee under Lot R614.
One of 117 produced, only a purported 32 known to exist.
— Mecum Auctions (@mecum) November 20, 2022
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