DiDia 150
{{Infobox automobile
| name = DiDia 150
| image = File:DiDia 150 stlouis.jpg
| manufacturer =
| production = 1953–1960
| class =
| body_style =
| layout =
}}
The 1960 DiDia 150 was a luxury, custom-designed iconic, handmade car also known as the "Dream Car" forever associated with its second owner, singer Bobby Darin. Built in Detroit, Michigan, clothing designer Andrew "Andy" Di Dia designed{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x7klAAAAIBAJ&dq=didia-150&pg=821%2C3795681|title=Dream Car Cost $150,000, Took Seven years to Build|publisher=Gettysburg Times|last=Benjiman|first=Stan|date=November 8, 1962|page=3|accessdate=21 March 2012}} this "unrestrained and unconventional" automobile. Only one example was ever built.
Description
The car was originally powered by a 365 cubic inch Cadillac engine, later replaced by a 427 cubic inch high-performance Ford engine,{{cite web|url=http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/03/12/andrew-didia-designer-of-didia-150-dies-at-age-96/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328124859/http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/03/12/andrew-didia-designer-of-didia-150-dies-at-age-96/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 28, 2014|title=Andrew DiDia, designer of DiDia 150, dies at age 96|first1=Kurt|last1=Ernst|date=March 12, 2014}} and had a 125-inch wheelbase, with a tubular aluminum frame and a hand-fashioned soft aluminum body.{{Cite web|url=http://issuu.com/bayareaobserver/docs/bao_4-21-2011|title=Featuring the Bobby Darin Dream Car|publisher=The Bay Area Observer|page=5|date=April 21, 2011|accessdate=20 March 2012}} The car has Batmanesque set of rear fins{{cite web
| last = Nower
| first = Lia
| authorlink =
| title = Bobby Darin's Car Still A Dream
| work = St. Louis Dispatch
| publisher = Lee Enterprises
| date =
| url = http://www.bobbydarin.net/dreamcarart.html
| accessdate = February 23, 2012 }} dominating the bodyline and ruby red hubcaps on whitewall tires. Writer Daniel Vaughan describes it as
...an exotic vehicle that is overdone in every detail and in every respect, an iconic dream car. Its metallic red paint was from 30 coats of paint with real ground diamonds for sparkle.{{Cite book|title=Bobby Darin: The Incredible Story of an Amazing Life|last=DiOrio|first=Al|page=164|publisher=Running Press|year=2004|isbn=0-7624-1816-8}} ...The body is from hand-fashioned soft aluminum. There are hidden headlights and tail lights that swivel as the car turns. Inside, the seats each have their own ash tray, cigarette lighter, and radio speaker. On the dash are oversized levers that control the air conditioning, heater and defroster.{{cite web| last = Vaughan
| first = Daniel
| authorlink =
| title = 1960 Di Dia 150 - Overview
| publisher = Conceptcarz.com
| date = March 2010
| url = http://www.conceptcarz.com/z18215/Di-Dia-150.aspx
| format =
| accessdate = February 23, 2012 }}
History
The car was designed by Andrew Di Dia,{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=925QAAAAIBAJ&dq=car%20bobby-darin&pg=3146%2C306934|title=Darrin drives $100,000 Auto|publisher=The Milwaukee Sentinel|date=1 April 1961|page=11|accessdate=20 March 2012}} a clothing designer, who Bobby Darin had met while on tour in Detroit in 1957.{{cite book
| last1 = Starr
| first1 = Michael Seth
| title = Bobby Darin: A Life
| location =
| publisher = Taylor Trade Publications
| year= 2011
| pages = 97
| isbn = 978-1-58979-598-3 }} Darin telling Di Dia at the time that he would purchase the car if he ever "hit it big".
For seven years, from 1953 to 1960 the DiDia 150 was hand-built by four workers, at a cost of $93,647.29{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AfQZAAAAIBAJ&dq=car%20bobby-darin&pg=1720%2C3934275|title=Car Cost $150,00 (Press Agent Says)|last=Du Brow|first=Rick|publisher=The Time-News|date=24 March 1961|page=30|accessdate=20 March 2012}} but sold to Darin in 1961 at a cost of over $150,000 (1.5 million today). At the time the car was listed as most expensive "custom-made" car in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.{{Cite magazine|title=Autos|magazine=Boys' Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqXBWmvDfQMC&q=%22di+dia%22%22automobile%22+guinness&pg=PA18 |publisher=Boy Scouts of America|pages=18–19 |date=February 1969|issn=0006-8608|accessdate=20 March 2012}} The body was hand-formed by Ron Clark{{cite book
| last1 = Barris
| first1 = George
| last2 = Scagnetti
| first2 = Jack
| title = Cars of the Stars
| location =
| publisher = Jonathan David Publishers
| year= 1974
| pages = 93
| isbn = 978-0-8246-0166-9 }} and constructed by Bob Kaiser from Clark Kaiser Customs.File:1962 Di Dia 150 for Bobby Darin (9639953775).jpg
Darin drove his wife, Sandra Dee, in the car to the 34th Academy Awards in 1961.{{cite book
| last1 = Evanier
| first1 = David
| title = Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin
| location =
| publisher = Suny Pres
| year= 2010
| pages = 169–170
| isbn = 978-1-4384-3458-2 }} {{Quote|When Bobby drove the car to the Academy Awards, I and Steve Blauner followed behind him in a limousine. The car had two fans and a switch that you had to turn on. Bobby didn't realize, so it heated up. All the magazines said the car caught fire but it didn't.|Andrew Di Dia}}Di Dia toured the car around the country, when Darin wasn't using it for public appearances.{{Cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19610401&id=LRMgAAAAIBAJ&pg=3536,3027184 | title=Singer to drive $90,000 Dream Car | publisher=The Lewiston Daily Sun | date= April 1, 1961 | page=1 | accessdate=28 February 2012}} After publicity and film use, Darin donated his "Dream Car" to the National Museum of Transportation in 1970 where it remains. It was restored by Mike Manns of Manns Auto Body in Festus, Missouri before going on display.{{cite web
| last = Lynch
| first = Charles
| authorlink =
| title = Car Lust: The Bobby Darin Dream Car (1960 DiDia 150)
| work = AmazonBlogs
| publisher = Amazon.com
| date = February 26, 2009
| url = http://www.carlustblog.com/2009/02/the-bobby-darin-dream-car-1960-didia-150.html
| accessdate = February 16, 2012
| archive-date = July 4, 2011
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110704130311/http://www.carlustblog.com/2009/02/the-bobby-darin-dream-car-1960-didia-150.html
| url-status = dead
| last = Roberts
| first = Chris
| authorlink =
| title = Bobby Darin Dream Car
| publisher = Manns Restoration & Maintenance
| date =
| url = http://mannsrestoration.com/Restoration/Item13.aspx
| format =
| accessdate = February 28, 2012 }}
Specifications
The gasoline-fueled V8 engine (originally 365 cid, later upgraded to 427 cid) is located at the front. It is rear-wheel drive. The body and chassis are hand-formed from 064 aluminum with a unitized alloy tube frame.
It has a glass cockpit in back, a squared steering wheel resembling a superellipse (with n = 3⁄2, a = b = 1) and thermostatically controlled air conditioning system. The interior is rust colored in contrast to the ruby paintwork. The design included the first backseat-mounted radio loudspeakers and hidden windshield wipers,{{cite web
| title = Bobby Darin Dream Car
| work = The St Louis Museum of Transportation
| publisher = Transport Museum Association
| url = http://transportmuseumassociation.org/collection/bobby_darin.htm
| accessdate = February 23, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120621002152/http://www.transportmuseumassociation.org/collection/bobby_darin.htm
| archive-date = June 21, 2012
| url-status = dead
}} which start themselves when it rains. Other features include retractable headlamps, rear turn signals which swivel as the car turns, 'floating' bumpers and a trunk that was hinged from the driver's side. Each of the four bucket seats have their own thermostatically controlled air conditioning, individual cigarette lighters and ashtrays, as well as a radio loudspeaker. The original engine, a Cadillac V8, was later replaced by a high-performance Ford engine when it was taken on the show circuit.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.legendarycollectorcars.com/featured-vehicles/show-cars/bobby-darins-didia-150/ Legendary Collector Cars]
- [http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/greater_houston/entertainment/article_d8837a4c-806c-57b4-9acb-d06709c7414f.html Houston News Article]