The story of Ghia – part 1
The beginning In tracing the genealogy of coachbuilding firms, it turns out that they originated in the early years of the last century as…
The Stutz Blackhawk prototype was produced in 1969. Based on the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Coupé. The car was first measured in detail in a special workshop in Detroit. Exner then created a 1: 1 scale clay model, which, with the exception of an extended wheelbase, corresponded exactly to the dimensions of the Pontiac. A plastic cast was made of the clay model, which was taken to the workshop in Cavallermaggiore, where the Italian craftsmen first made a wooden model on which the body parts would in future be made by hand. The wooden model was realized in June 1969.
At that time the factory in Cavallermaggiore was still under construction. The prototype of the Blackhawk was therefore made by Carrozzeria Ghia. It was completed in December 1969. On January 20, 1970, it was unveiled to the public at an event in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The prototype largely corresponded to the later production model. However, it had a windshield that consisted of two parts and had a veritable center bar. The later production model took over the one-piece windshield of the Pontiac Grand Prix, on which a separating bar was applied later – as an imitation. This feature was omitted from the second series. Pictured here: Virgil M. Exner, Unidentified Model, James O’Donnell and Paul Farago with Stutz Blackhawk Car, 1970. Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford.
The beginning In tracing the genealogy of coachbuilding firms, it turns out that they originated in the early years of the last century as…
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