One-of-Four Chrysler ST Specials Sells For $288k At Auction

Because of silly regulations and tax laws, many of the thousands of interesting and forward-thinking concept cars from the past century no longer exist…at least those built by American car makers. But in Europe, where there were still many dozens of small coachbuilders, turning a concept car into a road-going beauty was much easier, even if the parent company wanted nothing to do with the project.

Hemmings Auto Blog reports the story behind this one-of-four Chrysler ST Special, sold exclusively in Europe, though it was based on an American-made Chrysler New Yorker. And yes, it had a HEMI.

The original Chrysler Special debuted in Europe in 1952, and Chrysler exporter C.B. Thomas authorized the construction of between 12 and 16 replicas built by Ghia. Chrysler followed the Special concept with the GS-1 and the ST Special, which is what we have here. Charles Ladouch, operating under the authority of Thomas, had Ghia build four roadworthy versions of the ST Special built, two sold to customers in France and two to customers in Italy.

This car has been repainted thrice from its black-and-red look, now wearing a very 80s-shade of pastel green. While other examples of these rare concept cars-brought-to-life have sold for a million dollars, this altered ST Special brought only $288,000 at auction. If only it were still so easy to get some of these awesome concept cars on the road. If you had the money and ability, what concepts would you like to make into production cars?