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Ghia 1500 GT - Small Ferrari and Porsche 356 alternative with Fiat technology

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Created on August 29, 2012

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

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Bruno von Rotz

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Balz Schreier

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Archiv

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Bruno von Rotz

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Balz Schreier

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Archiv

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - a typical sixties GT silhouette

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - rarely seen on our roads

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - at home on country roads

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - easy to drive

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - the rear bumpers are missing on this example

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - classic GT design from Ghia

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - independent front design

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - generously glazed cabin to the front

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - short cabin, long front

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - the chrome nose was also the bumper

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - the design "works" and is independent at the same time

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - tightly cut Gran Turismo

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - low-slung rear end

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - the windshield wipers are counter-rotating

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - from this perspective you can see certain similarities with a 250 GT Lusso, which was, however, from Pininfarina

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - two headlights and a large cooling opening

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - "Rosso Corsa" was a standard color

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - simple rear design, the bumper is missing on this example

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Sporty interior

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Fiat steering wheel, rich instrumentation

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - switches and instruments from the large series

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - room for performance increases in the instrumentation, the engine does not reach 8,000 rpm, the top speed is well below 200 km/h

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - rev counter up to 8'000 rpm

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Fiat emblem in the steering wheel

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - complete instrumentation, Fiat steering wheel

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Gasoline clock

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - speedometer up to 230 km/h, 160 to 170 km/h was the realistic top speed

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Switch for ventilation and windshield wipers

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Water temperature display

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Interior door panel with large practical chrome handle

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - large horn ring and thin steering wheel rim

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - View into the engine compartment

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Brave series technology in the engine compartment

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - The four-cylinder engine from Fiat was adopted unchanged, but in different versions

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - trunk for the bare essentials

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - the chrome nose as protection for the bodywork

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Borrani wheels, hubcaps and air outlets

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Fuel filler cap

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - the rear design is reminiscent of vehicles from Maranello

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - taillights like the big brother Ferrari

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Fiat 1500 L (1964) - combination for calculators: the body of the 1800, the engine of the 1500

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Fiat 1500 (1964) - the classic saloon, available with 1.3 and 1.5 liter engines

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1962) - low-set rear, small vertical bumpers on the prototype

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1962) - Steering wheel with Ghia emblem and dashboard

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1962) - the pretty coupé sits on Borrani rims with hubcaps

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1962) - the front shows a "1500 GT" emblem

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1962) - Transparent drawing reveals the tubular frame construction

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1962) - View of the chassis

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Fiat 1500 GT Ghia (1963) - Presentation at the 1963 Turin Motor Show

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Ghia 1500 GT (1963) - the license plate was attached to the front of the radiator grille

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Ghia 1500 GT (1963) - hardly any changes were made during the construction period

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Ghia 1500 GT (1964) - taken on a test drive

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Ghia 1500 GT (1964) - the coupé with the characteristic chrome nose

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Ghia 1500 GT (1964) - this later model shows a modified rear bumper guide

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Ghia 1500 GT (1964) - the small sports car was not a great sales success

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Ghia 1500 GT (1964) - classic Italian sports car design, apart from the radiator grille

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Ghia 1500 GT (1965) - Promotion of the small coupé in the press

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Summary

In the early 1960s, the Italian coachbuilder Ghia offered a beautiful coupé based on the Fiat 1500. The idiosyncratic 1500 GT was called the Gran Turismo, which was eventually produced in several hundred units but is as rare today as the rarest Ferrari or Lamborghini. This report tells the story of the Ghia 1500 GT and portrays an example from 1965, supplemented by extensive historical images.

This article contains the following chapters

The elegance of Ghia
Modified technology from Fiat
Advanced design
Solid special bodywork
Moderate performance?
Not even expensive
Small modifications, no quantum leaps
Elegant or special?
A small GT, not a racing car
The ideal collector's vehicle
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Hardly anyone knows the little coupé, but it stands out. If you park it somewhere, the car is immediately surrounded by interested people. "Is that a Ferrari?", "Surely Italian, right?" and "A one-off?" are questions you often hear. According to the manufacturer, the Ghia 1500 GT (also known as the Fiat 1500 GT Ghia) was built 846 times. But only a few have survived, which is why the little Italian is rarely seen today. In 1961, the Ghia company, which had just been taken over by Luigi Segre, began developing a new small sports coupé based on the Fiat 1500. Gilberto Colombo designed an aerodynamically trimmed coupe series with long overhangs at the front and rear. This design was then heavily reworked in favor of practicality, and the front and rear were trimmed.

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