What an honour for a very special car!
Fiat 500 Ghia Jolly to Win the ‘Spirit of Valletta’ Award!
What an honour for a very special car!
Once a year, the Valletta Concours d'Elégance is held on Malta to elect the car that best represents the stylish elegance, the mundane life under the Maltese sun and on the Mediterranean beaches. 2022 the international jury awarded the prize to a Ghia Jolly 500 that had been restored exclusively with Axel Gerstl Fiat 500 spare parts!
A common sight in the streets? Not so much: the Ghia Jolly 500, a very special derivative of the classic Fiat 500. Less than one thousand of them were produced, including some special models. But the glitz and glamour of its owners made it an object of desire for many in the 1950s and 1960s. The Jolly 500 was the car of the rich and beautiful, the movie stars and the wielders of power. Yacht owners from Europe and America used it as a beach car for their outings to the coast, giving it the status of an iconic car in its numerous shapes and designs. It had become an integral part of the jet set. No wonder, then, that the international jury of the Valletta Concours d'Elégance* on Malta also fell in love with the little car and awarded David Arrigo's light blue Ghia Jolly 500, restored exclusively with Axel Gerstl parts, the Spirit of Valletta Award on 29.05.2022 in St. George's Square. The Jolly, built in 1965, one of the 70 most beautiful classic cars of Malta, convinced the judges as the car they would most like to be seen in and that best represents the elegance, style, and lightness under the sun and on the beaches of Malta. It was of course a perfect fit to have Malta’s 2021 Miss World contestant Naomi Dingli present the prize.
Originally, the Jolly designed by Carrozzeria Ghia on the basis of a Fiat 500 was especially conceived as an outing car to be taken along on the yacht of the legendary Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli. Doors, windows and roof were removed, the body reinforced and the windscreen shortened. Instead of the standard Fiat 500 seat covers, they used wicker material so that the Jolly could also be driven in wet swimwear.
The first two specimens were delivered to Gianni Agnelli and Aristoteles Onassis. Later, celebrities such as Stirling Moss, Elvis Presley, Mae West, Yul Brunner, John Wayne, Tito and Princess Grace Patricia of Monaco owned their own Jolly, the latter being still in the hands of Prince Albert. Former US president Lyndon B. Johnson drove his Jolly on his Texas ranch and – quite pragmatically – also used it as a golf cart.
David Arrigo’s Ghia Jolly 500 is one of the rarest Jolly versions because it was based on the Fiat 500 Giardiniera. It features a longer wheelbase and the flat twin-cylinder engine is located below the boot at the rear of the vehicle, providing additional storage space. Initially, the little Jolly served as an outing and beach car for various yacht owners, first in Florida, then from 1974 onwards on Malta. Since 2006, the Jolly 500 has been part of David Arrigo’s unique collection of more than 70 classic cars, among them 33 Fiats. Between 2017 and 2022, it was entirely restored and is now one of an estimated less than ten original Ghia Giardiniera Jollys worldwide. Of all the Jolly and Spiaggina variants taken together, probably less than 100 still exist, because modern preservatives were lacking in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and salt water and sea air destroyed most of the bodies over time. We are fortunate to have David's light blue Jolly still around thanks to his energetic efforts!
* The Valletta Concours d'Elégance is not simply a classic cars exhibition, but also a competition that brings together art and technology. In ten classes, Malta’s most beautiful classic cars compete for 16 prizes, awarded by an international jury according to a set of pre-determined criteria.
