Mark Greeley: This 1953 Abarth 1100 Sport By Ghia Is Unparalleled Italian Design

Thursday, August 17, 2017

This 1953 Abarth 1100 Sport By Ghia Is Unparalleled Italian Design

Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, all well-known in automotive history and all aptly named for their founders. Joining those men in early 20th century Italy was one, Giacinto Ghia; a name you’ve undoubtedly heard, but as a footnote to the others.

Ghia was an Italian designer and founder of Carrozzeria Ghia in 1916, one of Italy’s premiere design and coachbuilding houses of the time. While the Ghia name would be applied to automobiles of their own creation, the firm would rise to fame designing and contributing for other manufacturers. And for that reason, the Ghia name would never carry the weight of Ferrari or Lamborghini, but would rival them all the same in impact on the history of Italian automobiles.

This 1953 Abarth 1100 Sport by Ghia is one of the finest examples of that design. Abarth, having just launched in 1949 would team with Ghia looking to make a splash in a major way. Built on one of the last four Abarth 205 competition chassis, this is the only one with a body by Ghia. It was first exhibited in 1953 at the Turin Salon and again in 1954 at the New York Auto Show, having changed owners. The new owner had hoped to get the car into production, but it never came to fruition and the car was eventually lost through time.

It was re-discovered in Maryland in 1982 where it was sitting idly in a barn, a literal barn find. From there the car would move through a couple owners before being painstakingly restored to its original glory through photos, articles and original documents. All the work would pay off when this 1953 Abarth 1100 Sport by Ghia would when its class at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and be nominated for best in show. It returns to Pebble Beach this year seeking a new owner at auction where it is expected to go anywhere between $750,000 and a million dollars.