The World’s Most Expensive Custom Car Was Built By An Unlikely Culprit

The story of this dream car began in the mind of Andrew Di Dia, a clothing designer born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1917. His father Gaspare worked in the automotive industry that made the city famous, sparking a lifelong obsession in the young boy. Later, he became a bus driver, and his love for motorized vehicles only increased. 

Sometime in the early 1950s, according to the enthusiasts’ website Coachbuilt.com, Di Dia became interested in custom cars. So much so, in fact, that he purchased a number of modified vehicles — including a Buick equipped with bespoke fins. But it was in 1953 that this passion took his life in a new direction.

That year, Di Dia decided to create a custom vehicle all of his own. And he was in a better position than most. Although he had no experience in the automotive industry, he had the good fortune of being neighbors with Edward V. Francoise, a designer working at Chrysler Corp. 

Keen to create his dream car, Di Dia enlisted Francoise’s assistance, commissioning a series of sketches to bring his ideas to life. And eventually, a blueprint emerged. But this was no ordinary custom vehicle. Instead of simply modifying an existing model, the men planned to build their design from scratch.

At that point, the project was handed over to the specialists at Clarkaiser Customs, a Detroit auto shop founded at the end of World War II. Having successfully completed a number of high-profile projects, the team must have seemed an obvious choice. But even they failed to realize Di Dia’s vision within the projected two-year timespan.

Instead, it would take the team at Clarkaiser Customs, headed up by Ron Clark, more than six years to finish the job. And by the time that it was completed in 1960 it was a feat of engineering the likes of which had rarely been seen before. In fact, at the time, it was the most expensive custom car ever built.  

“Apart from a few pieces like spindles and wheels, the adjustable Thunderbird steering column, the Plymouth steering wheel, the Chrysler windshield, the Pontiac seats, the third member and the Cadillac engine and transmission, everything else was custom-built,” wrote Ron Fetherstone, a vehicle historian, in a 1995 article for Rod & Custom magazine.

Along with his co-worker Bob Kaiser, Clark poured his heart and soul into Di Dia’s vehicle, forging the chassis and body by hand. And after four years, the first stage of the project was complete. But the men were determined to do the job right, which meant a long wait before the finished article was revealed.

“Ron’s perfectionist nature and wonderful manual skills helped produce a body that was as crisp as a pin, hand-hammered out of half-hard .064 aluminum over wooden bucks,” Fetherstone continued. “Each fin assembly, for example, took Bob 15 weeks to shape. All the aluminum body skin was gas welded and then metal finished without any fillers.”

According to Coachbuilt.com, Clark and Kaiser did not have much to work from besides Francoise’s drawings. And so, they simply “did it by eye.” As they installed a top-of-the-range Chrysler windshield, hand-rolled chrome bumpers, and fitted a powerful Cadillac engine, Di Dia’s crazy dream began to take shape.  

Meanwhile, when it came to the comfort of the driver, no expense was spared. Fetherstone wrote, “Like the exterior, virtually everything inside was custom-fabricated, apart from the steering wheel and the bucket seats.” And even those seats were given a bespoke makeover to match the rest of the car’s interior, getting re-covered in a brown leather-and-fabric mix. Fetherstone went on, “The dash panels feature a freestanding, see-through speedometer and four recessed gauges.”

Eventually in November 1960 Di Dia towed the completed vehicle across America to the Bakersfield Motor and Boat Show in Los Angeles, some 2,000 miles to the west. And there, it quickly became a sensation. Packed with customized features and put together with expert craftsmanship, it was like nothing that the spectators had seen before.

From first glance, the vehicle embodied the futuristic style of the 1960s — despite being designed back in 1953. The chrome bumpers shone in the Californian sunshine, while the prominent tailfins stretched above the roofline, creating an iconic silhouette. And the whole thing glittered with the light of industrial diamonds, mixed into the car’s gleaming red paint.

And that was just the beginning. Some of the innovations, such as the unique suspension mechanism and the swing-arm towards the rear, were of Clark’s own invention. Others, meanwhile, were ahead of their time in the 1960s — but would go on to become commonplace features in automobile design around the world.

These included air conditioning delivered to each individual seat, cigarette lighters, and four radio speakers arranged around the vehicle. But much of Di Dia’s vision was actually concealed beneath the surface. And according to John Hartmann, a tour guide at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, that was precisely the point. 

“[With Di Dia] being a clothing designer I guess he had very, very strict ideas about no buttons, no snaps, no zippers or anything,” Hartmann explained in a YouTube video uploaded in 2020. “Because he hid the headlights, he hid the windshield wipers, he hid the radio antenna, he hid the door handles.”

Thanks to retractable headlights, electronic doors, and swiveling indicators, Di Dia had created a vehicle that was completely streamlined in appearance. In fact, even the wipers were concealed, equipped with a sensor to activate at the first sign of rain. And there were no locks to speak of — according to Hartmann “the car is so spectacular and so obvious you wouldn’t think of stealing it!” 

All in all, the car cost $93,647 to build — the equivalent of almost $1 million today. But even that astronomical figure was not quite enough for America’s sensationalist press. And in coverage of the Bakersfield event, the vehicle was touted as a $150,000 “dream car.” From that point onwards, it was known as the Di Dia 150.

From the very beginning, the Di Dia 150 made headlines thanks to its impressive specifications and eye-catching, futuristic design. Not long after the vehicle’s debut, though, it emerged that a very famous name had actually been connected to the project for several years. And soon, this dream car was propelled into the spotlight of Hollywood and beyond.

This unlikely relationship had begun back in 1956 when Di Dia, seeking money to fund the ongoing build, took a job managing a nightclub in Detroit. There, he encountered the future rock ’n’ roll star Bobby Darin, then at the beginning of his career. And over time, despite an almost 20-year age gap, the pair became close friends.  

Born in 1936 in New York City, Darin had experienced a somewhat unusual childhood. His birth mother, Nina, had become pregnant at the age of 17, passing on the baby to be raised by her own parents. Growing up, the singer believed that she was his older sister — and he didn’t find out the truth until 1968.

Despite this troubled background, though, Darin showed musical talent from a young age. And in 1955 he launched his songwriting career. At first, he struggled to get noticed, but in 1958 he hit the big time with the novelty track “Splish Splash”. The following year, he released “Dream Lover”, which sold millions of copies around the world. 

In the years that followed, Darin’s fame continued to grow, as he branched out into country music and began starring in Hollywood movies. And in 1960 he married the famous actress Sandra Dee, cementing his reputation as one of the era’s biggest stars. Although he died tragically young at just 37 years old, he remains a rock ’n’ roll icon even today.

Still, back in 1956 Darin was simply an ambitious young man trying to break into the notoriously difficult entertainment industry. And Di Dia took him under his wing. Speaking to David Evanier, who published a biography of the singer in 2010, he said, “Bobby was just like a son to me.”

“He first appeared at the Gay Haven in Detroit in 1956,” Di Dia continued. “He had no money. He was staying at the Wolverine Hotel for $21 a week. I told the owner of the restaurant to feed him and make believe it was on the house. And I paid the owner. I gave Bobby some of my clothes and bought new clothes for him.”

According to reports, Darin was interested in Di Dia’s dream car from the beginning, even offering up some suggestions on how he could tweak the design. And the story goes that he swore to purchase the vehicle if he ever hit the big time. Fast forward a few years, and this dream became a reality.

In 1960 Darin, now a famous star, hired Di Dia to serve as his valet, bringing his friend into his growing entourage. And, of course, the car came with them. Although it still belonged to its original owner at this point, the outlandish vehicle soon became intrinsically linked with the music star.

It was at this point, then, that the Di Dia 150 acquired its new nickname: Bobby Darin’s Dream Car. And in 1961 the vehicle hit the headlines when the singer-turned-actor drove it to the Academy Awards. With his wife alongside him, he certainly made a grand entrance — and interest in the vehicle began to spread across the country.

Some months later, the vehicle appeared on the cover of Rod & Custom, turning enthusiasts green with envy. And the following year it also featured in Mechanix Illustrated magazine, under the title, “A portfolio of cars you’d like to own.” Meanwhile, whenever Darin’s hectic schedule allowed, Di Dia showed off the dream car at various industry events. 

Its biggest moment, though, came in 1964, the year that Darin was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Captain Newman, M.D. Of course, he chose to drive Di Dia’s car to the ceremony — but things soon went dramatically wrong. And after drawing admiring glances from celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, the vehicle began belching out smoke.

According to reports, there had been an error with the cooling fans, which led to the vehicle overheating. But when Darin lost out to Melvyn Douglas in the Best Supporting Actor category, some viewed the incident as a bad omen. Afterwards, the press had a field day, reporting that the dream car had actually caught fire.  

Thankfully, though, the vehicle was undamaged, and it remained — along with Di Dia — part of Darin’s entourage for several years. Then, in 1970, a petty argument sent the two men on different paths. Speaking to Evanier, the clothing designer recalled, “Once we had a dispute. He said, ‘Andy, who’s your favorite star?’ I said Clark Gable. So he fired me.”

Although the pair later reconciled, this dispute seems to have marked the end of their working relationship. But did Darin ever make good on his word and purchase the vehicle from Di Dia? According to reports, he did, forking out over $150,000 and making it into the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of the world’s most expensive car. 

Eventually, though, Darin decided to donate the vehicle to a museum. But he didn’t want it to just rot away in any old dusty building. According to Hartmann, the singer interviewed a number of institutions in an attempt to find the right home for his dream car. And in the end, he settled on the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, where it has remained ever since.

Today, Bobby Darin’s Dream Car is one of the museum’s star exhibits. Hartmann explained, “People come in and they look for it right away because it is so unusual. And probably 95 or 98 percent of the people think it’s absolutely beautiful.” What the remaining few visitors think, though, he declined to say.

According to Hartmann, most are overwhelmed by the car’s dazzling array of switches and levers — although each actually serves a fairly mundane purpose. While one controls the gears, others allow the driver to operate features such as headlights and a heating system. The tour guide continued, “You gotta remember this is just a car. Even though it looks way out there, it’s just a car.”  

Tragically, Darin died from a heart condition just three years after donating the vehicle to the museum. But Di Dia lived long enough to see his dream project become a legend in its own right. Decades later, it was described by restorer Mike Manns as “one of the most fabulous custom cars ever built with every futuristic innovation money could buy.”

In 2002 Di Dia accompanied the vehicle to the 51st Detroit Autorama, where it was awarded the Preservation Award. And in 2010 he traveled to Rochester in Michigan to see his dream car take central stage in an exhibition. By then, he was 93 years old, and Darin had been dead for almost four decades.

Four years later in February 2014 Di Dia passed away, having never designed another car. And today, his pride and joy can still be seen at the Museum of Transportation, taking its rightful place among the displays of historic vehicles. At one time, it was considered an icon of the future — but now it serves as a reminder of the distant past.