Back in the 1950s and '60s, it didn't get much
cooler than the Rat Pack – a supergroup of actors and entertainers with enough
star power the drown out the sun. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis
Jr were all prominent members.
This 1961 Ghia L
6.4 belonged to Peter Lawford, the British actor who was not only a
member of the Rat Pack but brother-in-law to JFK, having married the
president's sister Patricia.
Put into production as the Chrysler Dual-Ghia was
winding down, the Ghia L was essentially a muscle car in an Italian suit. It
was built by Carrozzeria Ghia at its workshop in Turin in the decade before
Ford took it over, and packed Mopar muscle: a 6.3-liter V8 good for 340
horsepower, with a transmission, suspension, and other components also borrowed
from Auburn Hills in a transatlantic tryst that presaged the eventual Fiat
Chrysler marriage decades later.
Only 26 Ghia L 6.4s were made, making them rather
rare indeed. But this example was even more special, one of five or so
customized to Rat Pack specifications by legendary Hollywood hot rodder George
Barris. Sinatra had one. So did Dean Martin. Lawford held this one from
delivery in 1960 until 1963. It was then owned by fellow Hollywood actor David
Lawrence, and was acquired by its current owner in 2006 fresh from a three-year
restoration process that included a full bare-metal respray and an interior
reupholstery with Bentley-spec leather.
With numerous awards to its name, the Ghia is now
heading for the auction block in Monterey. Take a drive in the image gallery
below by Karissa Hosek for RM Sotheby's, and imagine just how cool you'd look
behind the wheel.
