#0380925Special

First registered on 16 July 1968 and resold in January 1969, this Ghia 1500 GT was acquired in 1973 by Mr. Parra, a Fiat agent in France, who drove it for a couple of years before beginning modifications intended for hillclimb racing — a project he never completed. The car remained untouched until 1991, when his son Jean-Marc decided to undertake a full reconstruction, not merely a restoration, with the goal of finishing what his father had started.

The nearly ten-year rebuild transformed the car significantly while remaining respectful of its origins. The front end features a distinctive four-headlight conversion initiated by his father, along with a painted grille surround replacing the original chrome. The engine is a Fiat twin-cam "Lampredi" unit bored out to 2023 cc from an 1800 block, fitted with a reworked cylinder head, 2-litre camshafts, a polished and balanced crankshaft and connecting rods, and fed by twin Weber 44 IDF carburettors mounted on an Abarth 124 intake manifold. A Fiat 132 five-speed gearbox, a larger-diameter driveshaft, an oil cooler and a two-speed electric fan were added for performance and reliability.

The interior was entirely re-trimmed in leather replacing the original skai, with a white headliner, new carpeting, an electronic tachometer, and polished gauge bezels. Original steel wheels gave way to wire wheels in Borrani style. All modifications were designed to be reversible. The project took nearly a decade and far exceeded its initial budget, but the result is a unique and deeply personal interpretation of the Ghia 1500 GT.

Source: Rétroviseur magazine, October 2002