Vehicle Description
One of just 31 Imperial Crown Limousines by coach builder Ghia for
1958! Cosmetically restored in 2020 to include new paint, interior,
chrome, tires, exhaust, and more! A luxurious addition to any
collection, and an opportunity that does not come along very often!
Showing only 73,600 original miles! Act quickly!
During the 1930's and 1940's it would have been relatively easy to
find a large 7 & 8-passenger sedans available on any automobile
showroom, albeit extremely expensive. After World War II though,
only a few manufactures retained multi-passenger luxury vehicles in
their annual model offerings. Most companies found the need for
such a vehicle dwindling, and by 1954, only Chrysler and DeSoto
offered an 8-passenger model. It was Chrysler's flagship Imperial
that led the field in this category with the exclusive and very
expensive Imperial Crown. Powered by a hemi engine on a chassis
measuring 145.5", it would feature front disc brakes, power
steering, Powerflite automatic transmission, and 12-volt electrical
systems to reign superior over all others.
Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" design was adopted in 1955, bringing
the long hood, short deck features to the forefront across all
Chrysler models. The aerodynamic shape brought in by the excitement
aerospace and aviation technology also brought the tail fins that
make 1950's cars so appealing today! Unfortunately for Chrysler, it
was losing sales in the large 8-passenger category. Production
costs were sky high, and it debated continuing a long wheelbase
vehicle altogether after 1956. Retooling and development costs were
going to be too extreme, so Exner turned to longtime friend Luigi
Segre, president of Carrozzeria Ghia based in Turin, Italy, for
assistance in cost control and remain in the long wheelbase
limousine category. Italian craftsmen were incredibly skilled, and
overseas wages were lower which helped control the production costs
and keep the ultimate result affordable to American buyers.
Chrysler would send a 129" wheelbase Imperial Hardtop with a
reinforced X-frame to Italy without any interior. Inside each
vehicle, Chrysler carefully provided 4 sedan doors, seat mounts,
all window glass, a fully wired dashboard, double air conditioning
units, upholstery material & carpet, lengthened driveshaft, stiffer
torsion bars, Suburban rear leaf springs, and other appointments to
finalize each vehicle. Under the project supervision of Paul
Farago, an Italo-American Chrysler Engineer, these limited
production Imperial Crown Limousines began production for the 1957
model year. Each one would be hand crafted without body stamping
dies or an assembly line. Ghia personnel meticulously stretched
each vehicle chassis 20.5" for a total wheelbase of 149.5", and
structurally created a longer roof & floors, then fit new taller
oversized doors that cut further into the roofline. The attention
to detail on each vehicle was incredible! Panel fitment for the
doors and fenders were carefully adjusted for days to ensure gaps
were limited to only a sixteenth of an inch before finishing of the
bodywork in paint would commence!
Each car was painstakingly smoothed in soldier to fill any and all
gaps, then coated in zinc chromate primer, following by several
coats of lacquer and polished to a mirror finish. Fully complete
after 30 days of assembly meant production totals were very
limited. Imperial and Ghia maintained this partnership from 1957
thru 1965, only 9 years with just 132 vehicles produced in total!
At a cost of more than $12,000, most were sold to the wealthy
elite, world leaders, and government agencies. They remain
extraordinarily rare today, with many retained in private
collections and museums throughout the world. This is an exciting
opportunity for an astute collector!
We are honored to offer this 1958 Imperial Crown Limousine by Ghia
finished in factory code correct Black over Gray Broadcloth
interior. Showing only 73,629 miles on the odometer, this special
limousine was cosmetically restored in 2020 to include all new
exterior paint, rear compartment interior upholstery, and all new
exterior chrome. It is powered by its original 392ci Hemi V8 and
push-button Torqueflite automatic transmission. Original features
include dual front/rear air conditioning, large dial dash
instrumentation, power windows, power partition divider glass,
power steering, power disc brakes, rear seat HVAC and radio
controls, dual reading lamps, fold-away jump seats, all tinted
glass, and brand new BF Goodrich Silvertown 9.50-14 wide whitewall
tires with full disc wheel covers.
This Imperial was owned by a Chicago, Illinois collector from 1962
until his passing, then acquired by a respected Indiana car
collector in 2017 thru his estate. Having already committed to the
restoration of another 1958 Imperial Ghia, it would come to the
possession of the St. Louis Car Museum in July 2018. Already
mechanically strong with the air conditioning fully functional, it
was enjoyed sparingly as an all original example for many months.
Beginning in January 2020, the vehicle was delivered to Springfield
Coach/Limoland for a complete exterior repaint utilizing their
extra large limousine paint booth. This was followed up with a
complete refinishing of the rear passenger compartment with all new
seating upholstery, door panels, window partition, and floor
carpeting. This included the padding, refinishing of the walnut
wood trim, and virtually every touch surface throughout.
The results are outstanding taking many months to complete. A new
exhaust system, heater core, engine fluids & filters, and
aforementioned tires were all included to complete the restoration
in November 2020. It is a marvelous vehicle to admire, especially
the special way the mechanical operation of how features work from
the driver's seat. Pushbutton starter, rotating parking brake
release, pushbutton transmission gear selector, oversized gauges,
lever action turn signal switch with pushbutton cancel, etc. It is
a remarkable example of both luxury and technical ingenuity from
the late-1950's, and certainly one that will have a place in
history for centuries to come! Act quickly! This is one of only 31
produced for 1958, and likely the last one you will see on the
market for a long while!