1954 Dodge Firearrow II Concept

The Dodge Firearrow II 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.

Unlike the earlier Dodge Firearrow I which was a static model for display only, the Dodge Firearrow II was a fully functioning and drivable car built as a potential precursor to a production run.

The success of the initial Firearrow led to the creation of the car offered here, the Dodge Firearrow II. Like the first, it was a low, sleek two-seat roadster with a dramatic frameless windshield and sharp, subtle fins, and it was also built on a Dodge chassis (in this case, one with a 119-inch wheelbase). Differences were numerous, however, including a change from quad headlamps to two wide-spaced units, round taillights, chromed wire wheels, a new toothed grille treatment, and trim that stopped at the sides, rather than wrapping around the front and rear fascias. It was finished in light yellow.

Firearrow II 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.

Painstakingly restored in its correct light yellow over a black two-seat interior, it’s hard not to be bowled over by this machine. Whilst it is part of the famed concept car collection of Joe Bortz in the early 1990s, the Dodge Firearrow II appears as forward-looking today as the day it rolled off the production line. Its wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel, as well as the Ghia badges it wears, are excellent nods to its Italian heritage, yet its Dodge chassis and Hemi V-8 give it undeniably American power and road presence. One of the reasons it has the $1m guide price is because it was the first of the drivable Firearrows, it makes fewer concessions to production-readiness than its successors, exemplifying Jet Age concept car design at its very best.

This vintage Dodge is one of the most striking examples of Jet age concept cars. The “Jet age” is a term used to describe a period of automotive design that dreamed of a streamlined, sleek futurist take on design. Right after World War II, concept cars were coming out left and right. Automakers used these cars as ways to dream and show the public what the designers were up to.