During the Antique Automobile Club of America’s 2023 Eastern Fall Meet in Hershey, Pa., there was buzz about a black 1961 Chrysler Newport four-door sedan parked on the show field. Normally, an early-1960s sedan doesn’t create such a stir, but this Newport deserved it.
On May 24, 1961, Peter Pellicani’s father walked into Century Motors Corp. in Brooklyn, N.Y., and ordered the jet-black 1961 Chrysler Newport four-door sedan with the standard three-speed manual transmission. The car was delivered on June 21, 1961.
“I was six years old and do remember going to the dealership with my father, Frederick Pellicani, to order the car,” said Pellicani, a resident of Long Island, N.Y. “As the story was told to me afterwards by my father, initially the sales manager refused to order the car (a special order), because he did not want to be stuck with a car that
