LI’L RED ROADSTER: This head-turning 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster, a one-of-a-kind, was auctioned in California over the weekend. (BNPS.co.uk)
LI’L RED ROADSTER: This head-turning 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster, a one-of-a-kind, was auctioned in California over the weekend. (BNPS.co.uk)
These red-hot wheels sold for close to a cool $1million.
The 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster, the only one of its kind in existence, was inspired by the dawn of the Space Age. It hit the auction block Saturday in Monterey, Calif. — changing hands for $935,000 to an unnamed buyer.
The futuristic-looking concept car, once owned by the shah of Iran, was created for the Detroit Auto Show in 1959 by influential car designer Virgil Exner — hence the vehicle’s name — and was intended to preview the direction of Chrysler’s designs in the 1960”²s.
The three-speed-shift car boasts enough muscle to back up its dramatic, asymmetrical look, producing about 260 horsepower from a Valiant 225 slant-six engine.
After the XNR’s tour as a show car was finished, Carrozzeria Ghia, the Italian car builder that assembled the auto, claimed ownership.
Ghia sold the XNR to someone who, in turn, sold it to the shah, an avid car collector.
In 1980, the XNR was acquired by Lebanese car collector Karim Edde, who stored it in an underground warehouse in Beirut to protect it during the country’s bloody civil war.
Four years ago, Edde had the car restored to its original condition in Canada.
“When we received the XNR, the body shell was intact and, considering its history, in surprisingly good condition,” Mario van Raay, the manager of RM Restoration, told London’s Daily Mail.
“Many original parts accompanied the XNR, but our greatest challenge was the re-creation of the missing components. and because of the extensive information and photos available, we could not take any liberties when re-manufacturing all these components”