Ghia (Carrozzeria Ghia SpA) is one of the most famous Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firms, founded in 1921 in Turin by Giacinto Ghia (1887 - 1944). An automobile is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own motor. ... A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles. ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Location Region Piedmont Province Turin Area   – Total   – Water 130 km² (50 mi²) ##.# km² (#.# mi²) #.##% Population   – Total (2002)   – Density 857,433 6,596/km² Time zone CET: UTC+1 Latitude Longitude   45°04′ N 7°40′ E1. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Between the world wars, he designed special bodies for Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Lancia. After World War II, many foreign firms ordered Ghia designs, such as Ford (Lincoln Futura), Chrysler (the Norseman) and Volkswagen (Karmann Ghia). There are even a few Ghia-bodied Ferraris. Ghia also participated in the short-lived Dual-Ghia venture. Production by Ghia was always in very low numbers, giving the company's products even greater exclusivity than those of the other Italian coachbuilders. (The Karmann Ghia was actually assembled by Karmann.) Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ... Fiat S.p. ... Lancia is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia, part of the Fiat group since 1969. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe... Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ... The Lincoln Futura was never a production model, but was instead a concept car designed by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company. ... The Chrysler Corporation is a United States-based automobile manufacturer, since 1998 merged with Daimler_Benz into DaimlerChrysler. ... The Chrysler Norseman was a concept car built in 1956. ... Volkswagen (VW) is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany. ... The Karmann Ghia is a two-seater sports car marketed by Volkswagen, designed by the Italian firm Ghia, and built by German coach builder Karmann. ... The Ferrari Gestione Industriale badge on the front of a 330 GTC Ferrari is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and high-performance sports cars formed by Enzo Ferrari in 1929. ... Dual-Ghia It was a short lived, rare automobile make, produced in the United States between 1956 and 1958. ... Wilhelm Karmann GmbH in Osnabrück, Germany is an independent company in the motor vehicle industry. ...

In the 1960s, Alejandro de Tomaso, owner of a rival design house, took over, but had difficulty in running Ghia profitably. In 1970, he sold his shares to the Ford Motor Company. During this transition period, Ghia had partial involvement in the De Tomaso Pantera, a high-performance, mid-engine car with a 351 cu OHV Ford V-8. Alejandro de Tomaso (1928-2003) was a racing driver and industrialist from Argentina. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Ford Motor Company (often referred to simply as Ford; sometimes nicknamed Fords or FoMoCo, NYSE: F is an automobile maker founded by Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan, and incorporated on June 16, 1903. ... The Pantera was a sports car produced by the de Tomaso company of Italy from 1971 through 1996. ...

Due to the prestige of the Ghia name, Ford soon began to work it overtime. From 1973 onwards, top-line models of various Ford car line-ups began to sport 'Ghia' badges. The trend began in Europe (Granada Ghia, Capri Ghia, Cortina Ghia, Escort Ghia, Fiesta Ghia), but soon spread worldwide, particularly to the U.S and Australian markets.

Today, the Ghia studios produce many various concept cars under the Ford banner. However, it will also forever be linked with Ford's top-line models. Lincoln Futura A concept car is a car prototype made to showcase a new vehicles styling, technology, and overall design before production. ...

External link

• An enthusiast site on Ghia history