1939 Pontiac Deluxe Six also know as the “Ghost Car” or “Plexiglas”

When the car was first featured at General Motors’ “Highways and Horizons” pavilion, it was a massive hit. Most people wouldn’t have seen Plexiglas before, so a transparent material with that many curves was almost unheard of.

 

Here you could look through the body of the car to see all its internal workings exposed. For aesthetic purposes all structural metal was given a copper wash, while the hardware and even the dashboard were covered in chrome. All the rubber elements in the car were made in white, including the tires.

The final price for the car? In the days when a new Pontiac was just about $700, this beauty cost $25000 to build. When this car was auctioned by RM Auctions in 2011, it went for just a little more than its original price. The one-of-a-kind car sold for $308,000.The Pontiac “Ghost” is equipped with a 2.2 liter six-cylinder engine, developing 85 horsepower and connected to a three-speed manual transmission. The transparent car is fitted with independent front suspension, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs.

The car has was the result of a collaboration between General Motors and Rohm & Haas, who developed the ground-breaking material Plexiglas in 1933.The model has an L-head six-cylinder engine, coil spring independent front suspension, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes

The material went on to be used in military planes during World War II and then expanded in to signs, lighting, fixtures, trains and other cars.Rohm & Haas used drawings for the Pontiac four-door Touring Sedan to create an exact replica body out of the transparent acrylic.Seventy-two years of wear: The Plexiglas does have some chips and cracks but is mostly in good condition, according to auction notes.

It was completed with structural metal underneath, which was given a copper wash, and chrome-plated hardware.Rubber moldings were made in white, as were the car’s tires. The only recent mechanical work has been replacement of the fuel lines.Billed as a vision of the future, the car was made for the 1939-40 New York World's Fair in San Francisco, pictured here