User:Jim MacDougald/sandbox

Ghia 450/SS

The Ghia 450/SS was built by Carrozia Ghia of Turin, Italy in 1966 and 1967. It was based on the concept car designed by Ghia's design chief, Sergio Sartorelli, and was first introduced at the Automobile Show in Turin in 1963. It was originally intended as a possible replacement for the Ghia-designed Fiat 2300 S then being produced under contract by Ghia's sister-company, Officini Stampaggi Industriali (OSI) for Fiat. Fiat did not choose to put the car in production and Ghia subsequently presented an improved version of the 230S at the 1964 Turin show, this time seeking a manufacturer to provide engines, drivetrains, and distribution for the Ghia/OSI production of the 230S. A photo of the 230S concept car was featured on the cover of Road & Track magazine in March 1965. Burt Sugarman, a wealthy automobile aficionado in Beverly Hills, saw the cover photo and flew to Turin to order a 230S for himself. As the result of discovering during his his visit that Ghia did not have a manufacturing partner to provide engines and drivetrains, Sugarman contacted Bob Anderson of the Plymouth Division of Chrysler Corporation and convinced him to provide engines, drivetrains, and factory warranty on a new derivation of the 230S, to be known as the 450/SS, the "450" derived from the approximate the 4500cc displacement of the 235 hp Plymouth "Commando S" small-block V-8 to be utilized in the automobile.