1967 Ghia 450SS Spyder

The Ghia 450SS was the brainchild of Hollywood producer Burt Sugarman (producer of such noteworthy movies such as Children of a Lesser God and television shows that included The Newlywed Game). Sugarman had seen a Fiat-based Ghia GT on the 1960 European show circuit and encouraged the coachbuilder to create a production model. Ghia had its promising young designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, conceive a curvaceous steel body, however Sugarman being American had a fairly fixed view of the car's mechanical aspects. The semi-monocoque body was mounted on steel-tube underpinnings and Plymouth Barracuda suspension, whilst under the bonnet was Chrysler’s venerable 273-cid, small-block ‘Commando’ V-8 with a Carter AFB four-barrel carburettor, delivering power to a TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Introduced at the 1966 Turin show, the 450 SS had a lofty price tag of $13,000 and was retailed only through a single Beverly Hills dealership, limiting sales a bit, however, 57 did find homes and apparently 37 are believed to survive.

Offered here is #BS4052, one of those 57 left-hand drive Ghia 450SS models and this example was first imported into the UK from America in March 1990. Fresh to market for the first time in over 30 years, BS4052 was recently discovered as something of a ‘garage find’ and is only available as part of a deceased estate, having formed part of our late vendor's eclectic collection of landmark classics from around the world.

The owner, a gentleman and successful businessman, travelled the world for both work and  pleasure and, as a lifelong motoring enthusiast, would often discover an interesting motorcar and add it to the Collection. This example is understood to be the latest chassis number known to exist and represents an exciting discovery. It appears to be mostly complete and, after a light re-commissioning, started on-the-button. The engine sounded healthy with forward and reverse gears engaging nicely, brakes functioned and the steering was light and precise, however, it would be highly recommended that the car is professionally checked over prior to any prolonged test.

The metallic blue bodywork appears straight and thankfully, over the years, this example has been well preserved and dry-stored correctly. In the cabin, the Sky Blue interior is very good and the beautifully designed unique seats are in good condition along with many other individual features, including the beautiful Ghia instruments. Air Conditioning and a metal hardtop were the only factory options available on the 450SS and thankfully this example retains its original hardtop. We understand from Jim MacDougald that the 'Specially built for' tag on the glovebox is usually missing (never attached) or left with no name inscribed, however, in this case it's clearly marked 'Specially built for Franco Mazzarella' which offers scope for some interesting research.The Ghia will be available for any inspection and is offered along with the relevant import documents showing that it's not subject to any Customs and Excise restrictions.

In summary, this is a fabulous opportunity to continue with the programme of recommissioning this rare sports car or, perhaps, fully restore to a Concours standard. Interestingly, a fully restored 450 SS ( #BS4008) sold in Las Vegas for $220,000 (£177,000 based on today’s exchange rate) back in 2021.

‘’Few people have ever heard of the 450SS, fewer still have seen one. This rarest of supercars was a blend of Italian style and American muscle. Discuss the car with motoring enthusiasts, and very few will have any idea what you are talking about. The Ghia 450SS is a forgotten supercar, in existence for only a few years before it seemed just to evaporate.”: SUPERCARS- The World’s Top Performance Machines, Richard Gunn- Scholastic,Inc.- Tangerine Press- 2000.

A special thanks to James E MacDougald, 450 SS specialist and researcher for kindly supplying information on this fascinating sports car.