It was included in the Book of Records as the 'World's Most Expensive Car' at the time: “DiDia 150” is a car that starts with a trial and becomes a dream of a single person, but that person cannot fully enjoy it...
At that time, the DiDia 150, which was born as a completely made-to-order, seriously expensive (which entered the Guinness Book of Records for its expensiveness in 1961) very luxury car, was literally described as a "dream car". As a matter of fact, it was designed by clothing designer Andrew “Andy” Di Dia in Detroit, known as the automobile capital of America. Di Dia, who previously worked as a mechanic and bus driver, was very interested in cars. As a matter of fact, his neighbor Edward V. Francoise, who later worked as a designer at Chrysler, had looked at Di Dia's drawings and stated that he liked them. So Di Dia, who wanted to "test" himself, designed this vehicle, but this trial was the first and last for him. However, it should not be unfair, because a person liked this design very much and paid 150 thousand dollars for this car.
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 this "unrestrained and unconventional" automobile. Only one example was ever built.
After the car was designed, it took 7 years to build. When construction began in 1953, it was singer Boby Darin who was willing to pay a fortune for this car. Darin, who agreed to write a check for $150,000 (more than $1.5 million in today's money) without blinking, had dreams in this car.
The car, which looks almost like a land-going "wheeled spacecraft", had an aluminum tubular chassis and its body was made of soft aluminum, completely handcrafted by only 4 people. Perhaps this was the most important reason why it took so long to build. While it originally had a 365 Cadillac engine, it was later equipped with a 427 cubic inch high-performance Ford engine due to a show deal with Ford. The roof of the car, which draws attention with its Batman-style rear design, was completely transparent. At the front, there was an all-round grille hiding the headlights, while the bumpers had signals that looked like spurs. The signals provided illumination when cornering, as in modern cars today. The Dadia 150 was an elegant car, drenched in detail from top to bottom... Its metallic red paint was applied 30 times, and diamond dust was mixed into it to make it shine. Inside the vehicle, there were quite a lot of luxury items. For example, each seat had its own independent ashtray, cigarette lighter, and radio speaker. The air conditioning and heating controls on the instrument panel consisted of large buttons.
When the production of the car was completed, its owner couldn't wait to use it. Indeed, Darin and his wife Sandra Dee first used it on their way to the 34th Academy Awards ceremony in 1961. However, the car's cooling system had two fans and a button that the driver had to turn on. Bobby hadn't thought of that and caused the car to boil water. Thereupon, newspapers and magazines wrote that the vehicle was on fire, but this was not true. Bobby and his wife made it a habit to go to award ceremonies with this car in the following years.
A few years later, Di Dia took this car on a nationwide tour. However, Darin was also sick and was getting worse. He decided to donate the car after it was used in a movie. In 1970, it was donated to the National Transport Museum, where it still stands. Darin died three years later from heart disease, which he had suffered from since childhood. st. The car, which is in the museum in St. Louis, once restored, still manages to attract the attention of those who see it.