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Carrozzeria Ghia was one of the oldest and most well-known coachbuilders in Italy. Ghia was founded in 1916 in Turin. They were responsible for bodying many beautiful sports cars before they were bought by Ford, and suffered the same fate as Vignale: being an exotic name for some Ford cars' highest trim level. While their work is rarer than others, like Pininfarina or Italdesign, they were one of the earlier masters in working with aluminum and other lightweight alloys, streamlining bodies to make faster, and therefore better, cars. They were early favorites of Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Lancia owners, making special bodies for racing.
Almost all the Ghia cars have very distinctive shapes and lines that stand out. Simply known as the "Supersonic" the smooth and rounded lines were predominantly used after Ghia's founder, Giacinto Ghia, passed away. As mentioned, Ghia does not have a very impressive portfolio, yet they made a big impact on the world with cars like Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia. Nowadays, they handle some concept car designs for Ford and quietly wait for their time to return to the spotlight. While they wait, the world forgot why the Ghia name meant something. But they deserve respect for their accomplishments. These are the coolest cars made by legendary Carrozzeria Ghia.
8 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia
After World War II, living standards were increased. Volkswagen was still producing the Beetle, but they needed something of a halo car to carry the brand to the future and to take advantage of the changing automotive market. So, they contacted skillful makers, artists, designers, and coachbuilders. They had an existing relationship with the Karmann and brought on Ghia because their vision for this new sporty-looking coupe fit the bill perfectly.
The Karmann-Ghia is a well-proportioned car with a seamless, flowing design. While it was a little more than a Beetle in a fancy dress, this was its advantage. Because the Karmann-Ghia was cheap to buy and maintain, it sold more than 480,000 units. While it was a sporty coupe, you couldn't win races with it, because it never produced remarkable power with its air-cooled engines. Still, it is one of the most beautiful production cars in the world.
7 Ferrari 195 Inter
Introduced at the 1950 Paris Motor Show, Ferrari 195 Inter is the touring version of Ferrari's race car, 195S. Bodied by Ghia, Touring (Vignale) and Ghia-Aigle. While there were only 25 of them produced, it is one of the most iconic cars in Ferraris history.
Ghia's 195 Inters are a bit rarer because there are fewer of them. Beautifully styled, these cars are some of the prettiest early Ferraris. Apart from the design, like all the early Ferraris, the 195 Inter's beating heart is the high-revving Colombo V12. The capable engine produced 130 horsepower for ease of use on the street.
6 Fiat 8V Supersonic
Penned by one of the unsung heroes of automobile design, Giovanni Savonuzzi, the Fiat 8V Supersonic is considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever made. The Supersonic was intended to be a Mille Miglia car, but sadly, it crashed and burned in the 1953 race. However, the beautiful design saw use in several other period sports cars.
The sleek, jet-age styling of the 8V Supersonic was the product of aerospace and racing inspiration. Savonuzzi designed the car to be as streamlined as possible because it was designed as a race car, with a gentle nod to the jet planes of the era. It was such a beautiful car that Ghia used this design philosophy for most of its cars.
5 Renault Caravelle
Built with the American market in mind, Renault Caravelle was Renault's answer to Volkswagen's Karmann-Ghia. Designed to be a small car with sporty looks, Renault marketed the Caravelle to the masses who want to move freely in the crowded city centers.
The Caravelle was a fuel-efficient and stylish car. The cute little sports car had three engine options, the largest being a 1.1-liter inline-4 producing 56 horsepower, which was enough because the Caravelle was never intended to have exceptional performance.
4 Ghia 1500 GT
Ghia 1500 GT was Ghia's own car, built upon sturdy Fiat underpinnings. This nicely proportioned fastback was a hand-built grand tourer with extremely limited production.
Ghia only produced 846 of these handsome cars. The 1500 GT was designed to fill a small niche in Fiat's vast product lineup. While Fiat had a car for almost everyone, they didn't have a small sporty coupe. While it used Fiat 1500 as a base, it had a 50/50 weight distribution for handling and the lightweight body helped the 67 horsepower engine of the Fiat to found its groove.
3 Jaguar XK140 Coupe
Jaguar introduced XK140 in 1954 as the replacement for the beautiful XK120. While the original car wasn't designed or built by Ghia, they produced some very special coachbuilt cars for select individuals who wanted some distinct Italian flare with their British machinery.
Designed by the late great Giovanni Michelotti, Ghia only produced 4 of these beautiful coupés. Underneath, it was Jaguar's beautiful 3.4-liter XK straight-six engine, producing 190 or 210 horsepower depending on the headers and other configurations. Ghia's versions were made from aluminum and were lighter than Jaguar's own.
2 DeTomaso Pantera
Ghia was one of the oldest and proudest coachbuilders in Italy. Like most coachbuilders, the company changed hands quite a few times in rapid succession, ending up in the hands of Alejandro de Tomaso. So, Ghia was in charge of designing the Pantera.
DeTomaso Pantera was a car that defined its era. Penned by another uncelebrated yet extremely designer, Tom Tjaarda. Tjaarda was born in America and later relocated to Turin, Italy to start his career. He took part in designing some of the most iconic Ghia and DeTomaso cars. Back to the Pantera, it was a genuine coachbuilt Italian car with American muscle. DeTomaso introduced Pantera in 1971 and continued to produce the car until 1992 with some minor upgrades. The Pantera came with three different Ford V8s and sold at Ford-Lincoln dealerships in the States.
1 Maserati Ghibli
The Ghibli was one of the most successful classic V8 Maseratis. While it was very expensive, it sold pretty well, becoming one of the marque's best-selling cars. Underneath the beautiful skin, there were simple yet robust underpinnings, ready to take on the open road. It was also one of the most misunderstood cars of all time. While people mostly compare it to the Miura, it was never intended to be a supercar. It was simply a great grand tourer with high-speed capability, thanks to its 4.7-liter V8 producing 306 horsepower, giving it a top speed of 155 mph.
Maserati Ghibli was designed by then-young Giorgetto Giugiaro for Ghia. And once you look at it, his influence is clear. The angular yet smooth curves of the car look great even after all these years. For the past couple of years, the prices for Ghiblis are climbing up, and you need to pay a pretty penny to own one of the most beautiful works of both Ghia and Giugiaro.