Dl5treez said:
They made what about 25,000 Cads in '62?
Sorry I meant 1952
1953 Ghia-Cadillac Comes With Glamorous Pedigree
From Philip Powell,
Your Guide to Vintage Cars.
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American Chassis, Italian Style, Hollywood Beauty
In a period when physical beauty was Hollywood's stock-in-trade, few film queens could compare with Rita Hayworth. The lady was glamour-personified in style, dress, and manner. She made a fortune for her Columbia studio bosses, attracted the most handsome and wealthiest of men as husbands. One of these was the Aly Khan, playboy son of the spiritual leader of millions of Moslems. To help prove his affection, Aly bought Rita a car.
Ah, but not just any car. No classic Rolls-Royce or Mercedes-Benz would suffice for his lady-love. Aly Khan purchased one of two Ghia-designed-and-bodied 1953 Cadillacs shown at that year's Paris Auto Show. Arriving at a hotel, restaurant, or social affair must have provided many spectacular moments for Ms. Hayworth.
A little background on the Ghia organisation is appropriate here. Giacinto Ghia began as a coachbuilder's apprentice in his hometown of Turin around the turn of the century. The city soon established itself as the center of Italy's burgeoning automotive industry, so it was natural that the young crafstman would get involved. He and a partner subsequently created a custom body business that flourished until WW2 when it was bombed out of existence. Physically, anyway.
Giacinto Ghia died in 1944 at the age of 56. His widow persuaded Felice Boana to take over, with the aim of adhering to Ghia's philosophy of producing cars in limited numbers but of high quality. In the years to follow, Carrozzeria Ghia became associated with a number of major manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic, most notably Ford and Volkswagen, the latter with the sporty Karmann-Ghia version of the Beetle.
Our subject car was created by a team of designers, including Giovanni Michelotti, Pietro Frua, Giovanni Savonuzzi and Felice Boano. Michelotti and Frua would go on to start their own and subsequently famous custom-body design studios, but with the 1953 Cadillac they were faced with an unusual challenge, for the Caddy's chassis was long and heavy by European standards. Nevertheless the Italian designers achieved a perfectly balanced, elegant design that actually complimented the Caddy's bulk.
Just two Ghia-Cadillac's were made. Both survive today. One is owned by the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. The other, the Rita Hayworth car, can be seen at the spectacular Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California, which is more than a museum in that most of the vehicles on show are for sale. Including the Ghia-Cadillac. I can't suggest an offering price, since one-off's (or two-off's in this instance) have no guidelines. If you can afford it, everything is open to negotation.
But even if you can't come up with the cash to ship this beauty to your home garage, it's worth a visit to the Blackhawk Collection for a rare look at a car created by Italian artists, purchased by an Arab billionaire, owned and driven by a Hollywood glamour queen.
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Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
And the 1962 cadillac-ghia? How much do ya want for that?
