PALIN MITENK BLOG

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


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


An extraordinary transparent car is set to fetch as much as $475,000 when it goes up for auction.

The motor, dubbed the 'Ghost Car', is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which, bizarrely, 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.


Innovative: General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas built the vehicle for $25,000 - an astronomical price during the 1930s


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.


Seventy-two years of wear: The Plexiglas does have some chips and cracks but is mostly in good condition, according to auction notes


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 RM expect it to sell for between $275,000 and $475,000 when it goes under the hammer on July 30.


Not for touring: The collectible is unlikely to be seen on the road


Transparent: Wires and a spare wheel can be seen through the trunk of the car


A spokesman for RM 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.'



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


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.


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

source: dailymail