1963 Chrysler Ghia Turbine Car

Back in 1963, when I was just nine years old, one of the 50 or so Chrysler Ghia Turbine Cars built to test the practicality of gas turbine engines in passenger cars, passed through our neighborhood. Ever since then I have been fascinated by what many people call the "Bronze Blowtorch." Designed by Elwood P. Engel, who also designed the 1961 Ford Thunderbird and 1961 Lincoln Continental, he was responsible for the exterior and interior design of this landmark car. Forty-two years after my first encounter with the Chrysler Turbine car, I was able to drive one of the few remaining examples thanks to friends at Chrysler and the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan. A similar car, painted in white, starred in the 1964 James Darren movie "The Lively Set" and it's a trip seeing it race through Death Valley, where every summer I stalk pre-production prototypes for the Automotive Traveler image gallery. The best source on the web for information on the Chrysler Turbine Car program can be found at Mark Olsen's excellent website at www.turbinecar.com/introduction.htm All images copyright 2010 by Richard Truesdell and automotivetraveler.com, all rights reserved. If you have a request for commercial use of these images, contact the photographer through Fotki.