The perfect car was born in the 1950s. It featured a Cadillacchassis with incredible, signature Italian styling, sculpted by the legendary Ghia of Turin. Under the hood was a state-of-the-art overhead cam V8. Behind it was a four-speed automatic transmission. Of course, it was packed with all the best luxuries of the time, including power windows and air conditioning. No, you’ve never seen one on the roads, and you probably never heard of it. Like so many masterpieces, its tale is tragic and only two were built. Fortunately, both are in great hands, and Jay Leno just took the world for a ride in one. The Tragic Tale Of The Ghia Cadillac Jay Leno's Garage, YouTubeThe car in question is the illusive 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia, otherwise known as the Ghia Cadillac. It’s an extremely rare luxury cruiser in which the two names were blended together to showcase the very best of qualities the automotive world had access to in the 1950s. The combination was so profound that Jay Leno’s Garage is calling it “the Cadillac that beat Rolls-Royce.”While you might assume this is the product of a group effort put on by the legendary duo, that’s not the case. As the owner, Lee Carr, points out, Cadillac had very little to do with the actual project. Ghia, who was eager to make waves in the post-war world, simply bought two Cadillac 62 series chassis that it grafted gorgeous hand-built bodies onto. The goal was to create a stir and generate some business, which it ultimately did. Though, it wasn’t enough to get this particular car into mass production. While Prince Aly Kahn bought one for his wife Rita Hayworth, only the two were ever built. The one shown in Leno’s video was solely a showpiece that was never meant for driving. That changed when Carr bought it and turned it into a road-going machine. Jay Leno's Garage, YouTubeCarr set out to buy this Ghia Cadillac after his wife asked him to. It was famously on display at the Imperial Palace casino where she fell in love with it. Originally, the prior owner refused to sell it to Carr. However, he was able to buy it at auction when the casino effectively closed down. While you’d think that story ended with, “they lived happily ever after” his work was just beginning. The Ghia Cadillac was a true showpiece. It looked like a functional machine, but it most certainly wasn’t. One of the biggest obstacles Carr faced was the fact that it didn’t have any actual wiring. Still, he pushed on, rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Along the way, he restored it back to as close to the original design as possible, while outfitting it with some necessary additions like mirrors for driving visibility. As you can see in the video, the Ghia Cadillac drives beautifully. Carr points out that it does get neglected, and he really only drives it when he’s taking his wife out. That would explain why it slowly gets better as they drive, which Leno makes note of as the 160-horsepower 331 cubic-inch Cadillac V8 warms its bones. The Duality Of Car Enthusiasts Jay Leno's Garage, YouTubeNow, there’s an argument to be made that this car should be in a museum, where it can be properly preserved. It is a rare machine that happens to be a very important piece of automotive history. You almost never see two giant names come together like this to make something so beautiful and ahead of its time. The good news for the people who feel that way is that the other one is still around and is receiving that sort of care. It’s currently in possession of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where you can go see it. As for Carr’s Ghia Cadillac, it’s right where it should be. Yes, it’s a rarity, and it’d be a shame to see something bad happen to it. However, many would agree that being locked on a show floor is a tragic end for something that was built to turn heads wherever the open road could take it. Cars are meant to be driven, especially when they have an owner who puts so much work into keeping them alive, like Lee Carr has. So, no. the Ghia wasn’t built on the scale so many of us would love for it to have been, but it lives on as a beautiful duo that perfectly plays to the duality of car lovers around the world.