It’s been said that a truly great designer can design anything. Here’s one proof of the theory: the Gibson Firebird electric guitar created by auto designer Ray Dietrich.

Raymond H. Dietrich (1894–1980) was, without question, one of the great automobile designers of the classic era. The co-founder of LeBaron Inc., Dietrich was a favored coachbuilt body designer for both Packard (above) and Lincoln, and also served as the first styling chief at Chrysler from 1932 to 1938. You can’t attend a classic-era car show  today without encountering multiple examples of his clean, sophisticated automobile designs.

After the classic era of auto styling drew to a close, in 1960 Dietrich had settled into semi-retirement in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which by sheer, happy coincidence was also the headquarters of Gibson, one of the leading electric guitar makers in the USA. One day Gibson president Ted McCarty attended a local talk by Dietrich on automobile design, and was so intrigued by his remarks that he approached Dietrich afterward and ultimately, asked him if he could design an electric guitar. To a gifted designer like Dietrich, that simple question must have seemed like a tantalizing challenge, one that could hardly be refused. The product that resulted was the Gibson Firebird.

Introduced in 1963, the Firebird was unusual in nearly every way for a solid-body electric guitar. The asymmetric body shape (called an “offset” in guitar lingo) was the reverse of industry practice, with the taller horn on the right rather then the left. Next, the design was of “neck-through” construction. That is, the neck extended all the way through the guitar, from the base to the headstock, as one continuous block of wood, which also served as the mounting for the bridge and electromagnetic pickups. More precisely, this block was nine strips of alternating mahogany and maple laminated together for strength and stability. Mahogany “wings” were then glued to the main neck/bridge section to form the body. (See photo above.) Some say the wings resemble automotive tail fins. Other quirky details included specially wound bar-magnet pickups and banjo-style tuning machines. As a result of its unusual construction and features, Dietrich’s creation doesn’t sound like any other guitar, and it doesn’t play like any other guitar. The Firebird is its own thing.

The Firebird was launched by Gibson as an entire line of instruments, from the base-model  Firebird I with fixed bridge and a single pickup to the ultra-deluxe Firebird VII with triple pickups, bridge vibrato, and gold-plated hardware. There were also two bass guitars of the same design—called Thunderbirds, naturally enough. And later, there was also a “non-reverse” Firebird with a more conventionally shaped body.

But unfortunately, the Firebird wasn’t a success in its original run. The unusual construction made it expensive and difficult to manufacture, and meanwhile, electric guitarists are a conservative bunch (who knew?) and preferred to stick with Gibson’s more conventional Les Paul and ES Series models. The original Firebirds were discontinued in 1970.

But then a funny thing happened. It took a few years, but guitar players started to appreciate the Firebird’s distinctive look and sound, searching out the rare models in pawn shops and garage sales. To meet the unexpected demand, Gibson launched one reissue of the Firebird, then another, then another, all true to Dietrich’s vision in varying degrees. Today Gibson and its companion brand Epiphone offer a full line of Firebird guitars in an array of colors, prices and features. Did Ray Dietrich ever play the guitar? We have no idea, but we bet the car designer would enjoy knowing that his guitar is still admired, coveted, and played by musicians today.