1954 Dodge Firearrow IV Concept

The Dodge Firearrow IV was a one-off concept / dream car designed in the early 1950’s by Chrysler Corporations legendary design chief, Virgil Exner and hand built by Ghia Coachbuilders of Turin Italy.

The series consisted of a full scale mockup (Firearrow I), Firearrow II a running, driving car based on that mockup. Firearrow III a sport coupe, a further evolution of the earlier Firearrows and finally THIS CAR Firearrow IV, a fully roadable convertible with folding top, windows and fully designed and engineered to be translated into series production.

Firearrow IV was built on a stock 119-inch chassis with a Red Ram Hemi (241 cubic inch engine) with 150 Hp at 4400 rpm. This power plant was mated to Dodge’s Gyro-Torque four speed semi-automatic transmission. This car is the only fully road going convertible with folding top, windows and fully designed and engineered to be put into production. It was shown at many of the major U.S. auto shows in 1954.

Powered by the legendary Hemi engine and also known as the Firebomb, the Italian-styled red convertible boasts a black and white diamond interior, seats up to four people, and has a price tag of over $1 million. Unfortunately, Chrysler did not proceed with its production, but had it been in existence today, the striking sports car would have rivalled the likes of the Corvette and other highly respected European vehicles.

For reasons that have been lost to history, the Firearrow never became a production car, but four of them did get made, and have captured the imagination of car collectors ever since: the Firearow family comprises the initial concept model, a convertible, a coupe and a production-ready convertible.