The
GM 'Ghost' Car
Are you
ready?
World's
only remaining 'Ghost Car' headed for auction...
The Plexiglas Pontiac expected to fetch almost
$500,000.
This
extraordinary transparent car is set to fetch
as much as $475,000 when it goes up for auction.
The auto, dubbed the 'Ghost Car', is a Pontiac
Deluxe Six, which has been covered in the see-through
material Plexiglas.
Built
in 1939 by General Motors and chemical company
Rohm and Haas at a cost of $25,000, it was the
first transparent full-sized car to be made in
America.
One
of a kind: The 1939 motor is a Pontiac Deluxe
Six which has been covered in Plexiglas, developed
just a few years earlier in 1933.
Innovative: General Motors and chemical company
Rohm and Haas built the vehicle for $25,000 -
an astronomical price during the 1930s
A
BRIEF HISTORY ON THE PIONEERING PLEXIGLAS PONTIAC
The
collaboration between GM and Rohm & Haas was
made for the 1930-1940 World's Fair in San Francisco.
At a cost of $25,000, it was the first transparent
full-sized car to be made in America.
Two Ghost Cars were made but the 1939-1940 Pontiac
Deluxe Six is the only won known to survive.
It toured the nation's dealerships and went on
display at the Smithsonian until 1947, and was
subsequently owned by a series of Pennsylvania
Pontiac dealers.
This model has a three-speed transmission, a six-cylinder
engine, coil spring independent front suspension,
live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs
and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.
Billed as a vision of the future, it was made
for the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, where it
became a sensation at General Motors' 'Highways
and Horizons' pavilion; and it continues to cause
a stir today.
Just two were ever made and this model, which
has a three-speed manual transmission, and is
thought to be the last of its kind.
It has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime;
and now its set to go on sale for the first time
since the early 1980s. It last sold for an undisclosed
amount.
American
auctioneers MR. expect it to sell for between
$275,000 and $475,000 when it goes under the hammer.
A spokesman for MR. Auctions said: 'The car is
in a remarkable state of preservation.
It's a testament to the longevity of Plexiglas
in an era when automotive plastics tended to self-destruct
within a few years. Although it has acquired a
few chips and cracks, it is structurally sound
and cosmetically clear, showing off the Ghost
Car's innards as it did in 1939. This motor still
turns heads as much as it ever did. It is not,
obviously, suited for touring but as a unique
artefact from automotive and cultural history.'
Ready
for the road: A Pontiac Deluxe Six as it would
have appeared in car showrooms in the late 1930s
Seventy-two
years of wear: The Plexiglas does have some chips
and
cracks but is mostly in good condition, according
to auction notes
Innovative: General Motors and chemical company
Rohm and Haas built the vehicle for $25,000 -
an astronomical price during the 1930s
Seventy-two
years of wear: The Plexiglas does have some chips
and cracks but is mostly in good condition, according
to auction notes.
The car has was the result of a collaboration
between General Motors and Rohm & Haas, who
developed the ground-breaking material Plexiglas
in 1933.
The material went on to be used in military planes
during World War II and then expanded in to signs,
lighting, fixtures, trains and other cars.
Rohm & Haas used drawings for the Pontiac
four-door Touring Sedan to create an exact replica
body out of the transparent acrylic.
It was completed with structural metal underneath,
which was given a copper wash, and chrome-plated
hardware.
Rubber moldings were made in white, as were the
car’s tires. The only recent mechanical
work has been replacement of the fuel lines.
The model also boasts an L-head six-cylinder engine,
coil spring independent front suspension, live
rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and
four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.
According to the GM Heritage Center, a second
car, on a Torpedo Eight chassis, was hurriedly
constructed for the 1940 Golden Gate Exposition
on Treasure Island, a man-made island in San Francisco
Bay.
Not for touring: The collectible is unlikely to
be seen on the road
Transparentcy: Wires and a spare wheel can be seen
through the trunk of the car.
Once their respective showcases had closed, both
'Plexiglas Pontiacs,' or 'Ghost Cars' as they
were sometimes known, toured the nation’s
dealerships. The 1939-40 Deluxe Six is the only
one known to survive.
Following the dealership tour, it went on display
at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,
D.C. and was reportedly there until 1947.
It was later owned by a succession of Pennsylvania
Pontiac dealers. It appeared at the first annual
meet of the new Pontiac-Oakland Club International
in 1973 and was purchased by Don Barlup of New
Cumberland, Pennsylvania. Barlup commissioned
a partial restoration from S&H Pontiac of
Harrisburg and sold it to collector Leo Gephart
in 1979.
The current owner’s father purchased it
from Gephart in the early 1980s, and it has remained
in the same family ever since.
Not surprisingly, it has no conventional vehicle
identification number; even the machined boss
for the engine number is blank.
A collection of period photos and other memorabilia
accompanies the car, which still turns heads as
much as it ever did.
Mechanics: The model has an L-head six-cylinder
engine, coil spring independent front suspension,
live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs,
and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes
Turning back the clock: The dial on the 1939 car
shows the wear of its 72 years
At the wheel: The steering wheel features rings
of chrome-plated hardware, and Pontiac's insignia
in red
Artefact: The car has clocked up just 86 miles
in its lifetime; and will to go on sale for the
first time since the early 1980s
Sensation: Billed as a vision of the future, the
car was made for the 1939-40 New York World's
Fair in San Francisco, pictured here
Vintage: The Transparent Car, on display at General
Motors' 'Highways and Horizons' pavilion in 1939,
has continued to cause a stir since its debut
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more. --
