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Country of origin:United States
Produced in:1955
Numbers built:1
Introduced at:1955 Turin Motor Show
Designed by:Gian Carlo Boano
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:October 30, 2013
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Click here to download printer friendly versionFollowing the demise of most European luxury manufacturers, several of the leading Italian custom coach-builders turned their attention to the lucrative American market in the early 1950s. The most prominent of these was Ghia, who partnered with Chrysler to create show cars and also several limited production road cars. In 1954 one of Ghia's owners and chief designers, Felice Mario Boano left the company to establish his own carrozzeria with his son Gian Carlo.

Not surprisingly, one of Boano's first customers hailed from the United States; Ford Motor Company subsidiary Lincoln. A friend of Gian Carlo Boano had previously worked with Ford and introduced the newly established company to the American manufacturer. It was quickly decided that Boano would create a show car for the 1955 Turin Motor Show based on a standard Lincoln. The Boanos, most likely, hoped that this would be the start of a partnership in the same vain as the Chrysler / Ghia tie-up.

Gian Carlo Boano was tasked with the design of the show car, which combined classic lines with jet-age inspired cues. The prominent front fenders with twin headlights were mirrored at the rear where they featured the taillights and exhausts. The flanks sported faux-exhausts at the trailing edge of the front fenders and non-functional air intakes in the rear fenders. Although it was painted bright orange, the show car used relatively modest chrome trim compared to its contemporaries.

The Boano body was mounted on the latest, 1955 model Lincoln Capri chassis, which was the final year of the first generation. It used a central beam chassis with double wishbones at the front and a live rear axle. The car also featured a 341 cu. in. version of the Y-Block engine, which was only available in 1955. In production trim, it produced 225 bhp, while 255 bhp was claimed for the show car. The push-rod V8 was mated to Ford's own Turbo-Drive three-speed automatic gearbox.

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  Article Image gallery (23) Specifications