1953 Chrysler D'Elegance Show Car
This was the first of Virgil Exner's series of European influenced designs to be rendered by the Italian coachbuilder Ghia. Its sleek lines and spare ornamentation were the inspiration for a series of similar show cars. This one featured custom fitted luggage to fit the space behind the front seats, because there was no trunk. Instead, the car featured electro-hydraulic spare-tire deployment.
Chrysler, fighting to overcome its long history of frumpy designs, hired Exner to enliven the brand. Exner, with his hand-picked team of young designers, began work on a very successful series of luxury coupés that toured the country as halo cars that pointed to great things ahead for Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, and DeSoto. The first of these, the K-310, was a luxury coupé that would form the basis of a whole fleet of design experiments.
During this time, Chrysler, like many of the Detroit car companies, was cultivating a relationship with the Italian carrozzeria that was re-emerging after World War Two. Chrysler and Ghia would work a series of cars together in the 1950s, and their design chiefs, Exner and Luigi Segre, would form a strong professional and personal relationship. The most significant of these co-developed models was an updated K-310 with a more sophisticated, continental-sounding name: D’Elegance.
The sporty coupé was a 5194mm-long and 1372mm-high three-seater with a long hood, a short nose, a fastback and a surprisingly long rear overhang. The D’Elegance featured a number of Exner design flourishes that would become staples of Chrysler styling for the next decade: full wheelarches trimmed in chrome, an embossed spare tyre on the rear deck with a spare mounted on a telescoping hydraulic assembly for easy removal, 17-inch wire wheels, and gunsight tail-lights.
The front of the car was a refinement of the K-310 with similar headlights and grille, albeit with a less apologetic expression and stronger overall appearance. The optimal view of the car seemed to be from the rear three-quarter, which displayed the sculpture of the car to greatest effect.
The interior had been sketched out in purely a schematic way, and although hardly an afterthought, was not as sophisticated as the exterior. Still, it featured a leather seat with a hidden pull-down armrest, leather trim on the dash and an aeroplane-like array of instruments for the driver to monitor. Included with the design was a bespoke set of luggage in matching trim, that fit snugly behind the front seats.
The car was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1952 and was a great success. However, despite rumours of a limited run of 25 cars for Europe, Exner himself confirmed that this was not the case and the D'Elegance would remain a one-off.
The design, however, would live on through the connection between Ghia and the German coachbuilder Karmann. Volkswagen had a hit on its hands with the Beetle, but, like Chrysler, wanted a sportier car to bring attention to the brand. It turned to Karmann, who was building convertible bodies for VW at the time, and Karmann turned to Ghia, which came up with sketches that were essentially a scaled-down and simplified version of the D’Elegance, whose long rear overhang would be perfect for the rear-engined VW.
The Karmann Ghia made its debut in Paris in 1955 and would go into production soon after. Chrysler design personnel were fearful of Exner’s reaction to the copied design, but when he saw the photographs of the little VW, Exner seemed pleased.
The reason for Exner’s reaction are not recorded, but the most-likely reason was that Exner had already moved on from the long-tailed look of the D'Elegance, with the first of the 'Forward Look' Chryslers arriving in the same year as the Karmann Ghia, while the dramatic 1957 models, with their elegantly sculpted bodies and the first of a series of outrageous tail-finned designs, were only 18-months away. The D’Elegance, for all its classic looks, already seemed like the product of another era.
In a way though, the D’Elegance – and, by proxy, the Karmann Ghia – would arguably prove to be Exner’s most successful design. The latter was in production from 1957 to 1974, and almost half a million were built in Europe and Brazil. The design, which could be traced back to the 1940s, would outlast tailfins, and the Forward Look cars, and even the 1960s design languages of Exner’s successors at Chrysler.
It is a long winding road from a glimmer of an idea at Studebaker, to a concept car from Chrysler and Ghia to production at Volkswagen. Yet the one-off coupé’s influential design remains eye-catching to this day, with the D'Elegance fetching $946,000 when it was sold at auction in 2011.
This car was so well received when it debuted in Paris in October 1952 that Ghia built an additional 25 examples, once again for Europe only, and a number of these do survive. However, this is the first example, and it is still a magnet for classic-car admirers wherever it appears. Few things are quite as tempting as a cross-cultural automotive hybrid, infused with American horsepower and a sexy Italian design. This Chrysler d’Elegance exudes such international character perfectly.
ADDENDUM
Please note this car’s catalog description incorrectly asserts that Ghia built an additional 25 d’Elegances in Europe. There is only one Chrysler d’Elegance and this is it, as confirmed by Virgil Exner, Jr. Exner does confirm, however, that Ghia built a second notchback “Thomas Special” coupe, after the initial fastback SS, but its whereabouts are unknown. Although this, the Chrysler D’Elegance, was introduced in Paris for 1952, it is actually considered to be of model year 1953. In Mr. Exner’s words, “the D’Elegance was one of my father’s favorite cars.”
Chassis 321953 is finished in a striking red metallic paint with black and cream leather interior. It is built on a New Yorker chassis, which was shortened 10 inches to 115 inches, and it is strictly a two-seater. The dash panel is perhaps the best of the Ghia designs, offset before the driver, with six large gauges with large speedometer on the left, large clock on the right and fuel, ammeter, oil and temperature gauges in the center. The dash-mounted gearshift is on the left, and there’s a Chrysler push-button radio on the right.
Although it would debut in 1952, chassis number 321953 would actually have 1953 Ghia designed bodywork. It would come finished in red metallic paint. Its engine would be upgraded to a 354 cu. in. Hemi V-8 producing 280 horsepower. This would be over a hundred more horsepower than what it had originally debuted with back in 1952.
The car's interior would be where the obvious differences between the 1952 and 1953 designs would be found. Ghia would build the 1953 model on a shorter wheelbase; therefore making the car truly a two-seater. The car's interior has been finished in black and cream leather. This particular D'Elegance would be built on a shorter New Yorker chassis. The interior would also feature a Ghia-inspired instrument arrangement in which the speedometer is located to the left of the driver along with the dash-mounted gearshift for the Torqueflight transmission (a later addition as well).
Pininfarina’s milestone 1946 Cisitalia (CC here) was hard to ignore, and few did. It is considered perhaps the single most important car in the development of design in the post-war era, and was widely praised and copied at the time. Exner’s D’Elegance (lower) is of course much more elongated,
Of course, the D’Elegance is credited with the inspiration for the Karmann Ghia, and rightfully so. Some books claim that the roof was a perfect copy, but even the most casual glance tells otherwise (KG CC and design history here). Frankly, the K-G roof is as least as different from the D’Elegance as it is from the Cisitalia. Everybody borrows, except the very few.
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Contents
Background
Designer
Chassis
Body
Interior
Drivetrain
Original
- Engine 331ci Chrysler Hemi 2bbl with 180 Horsepower and 312 Torque
- Transmission Chrysler's 4-Speed Semi-Automatic Fluid Torque
Updated
The second registered owner, after Chrysler disposed of the car in Italy to avoid tariffs was a man by the name of James Colee. He owned the car from 1955 until 1989 - driving it over 100,000 miles. During that time he installed many engine/transmission combos. They include:
- Olds OHV V8 with Turbo HydraMatic transmission
- Highly Modified Pontiac 389
- Mopar 440 Magnum
The current drivetrain is a Chrysler 354 Hemi and Powerflite transmission
Who Copied Who?
Car Shows
The car was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1952 and was a great success.
Just the Facts Mam
It was at the 1952 Paris car , and has been since, rumors of a limited run of 25 cars for Europe. Exner himself confirmed that this was not the case and the D'Elegance would remain a one-off at the show. The rumors since may have to do with a similar looking Chrysler Dream Car called the Thomas.
Ownership
- Chrysler Advanced Design Studio
- Shipped back to Italy to Avoid high tariff placed on imported cars at the time
- Sold to an America by the name of Patushian who was a Machinist in Englewood, CA
- James Colee who owned from 1955-1999
- Don Williams of the Blackhawk Collection
- Owned anonymously and displayed at Behring Auto Museum
Magazine Articles
- Special Interest Autos July/August 1993
Reference
- Special Interest Auto
- Hemmings
Internet Links
- Car Design News http://cardesignnews.com/articles/concept-car-of-the-week/2015/08/concept-car-of-the-week-chrysler-d-elegance-1952
- RM Sotherys https://www.rmsothebys.com/mo11/monterey/lots/1952-chrysler-delegance-by-ghia/1057393
- Car and Driver http://www.caranddriver.com/news/1952-chrysler-delegance-ghia-coupe-auto-shows
- MoparStyle.com http://www.moparstyle.com/forums/
- Hemmings https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2012/12/23/sia-flashback-1953-chrysler-delegance-deja-vu-all-over-again/#&gid=1&pid=11
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