Lot Ended
Description
Rare catwalk beauty with Superleggera coachwork by Touring of
Milan; unfinished restoration with all the hard work done; runs and drives; an
exciting project with lots of potential
The Flaminia
GT first hit the catwalk in 1959, its austere yet sensuous all-aluminium
bodywork hand-built by Touring of Milan in their patented Superleggera style.
Nine inches shorter and 170kg lighter than the Flaminia Coupe on which it was
based, its all-alloy 2.5-litre V6 produced 138bhp in triple carb form and was
good for 115mph.
Contemporary road testers
universally admired the engineering excellence of the car, its superb brakes and
tremendous ride and handling which imparted uncanny stability at all speeds and
on all surfaces. Indeed there are many who would claim that it was the finest
handling car of its day, bar none.
As with all
Lancias of this era, the Flaminia was a technical tour de force with features
like Dunlop disc brakes all round (inboard at the rear), a De Dion axle,
independent front suspension and perfect 50:50 weight distribution by virtue of
its all-synchro gearbox being mounted in unit with the rear axle. The quality of
materials used and the standards of engineering excellence applied were far in
excess of other, supposedly more illustrious, Italian marques. Indeed Italians
have always regarded the Lancia as their finest, most aristocratic car, and not
for nothing are they known as 'the thinking man's Alfa
Romeo'.
The same might be said of Carrozzeria
Touring, generally acknowledged to be the greatest of all the Italian
coachbuilders whose refusal to compromise on quality was the main reason for
their downfall in 1966. In fact the Flaminia GT was their last great design,
produced when they were at the height of their powers along with the Aston
Martin DB4, the Maserati 3500GT and the Lamborghini 400GT.
Costing as much as these other illustrious models at the time, the
Flaminia's roster of jet-set customers included film stars Sofia Loren, Brigitte
Bardot and Audrey Hepburn; racing drivers Juan Manuel Fangio, Peter Collins and
Paul Frere; and playboys Roger Vadim, Prince Ali Aga Khan and Francoise Sagan.
Just 1,718 examples were made before production ceased in
1967.
Dating from 1961, this Flaminia GT has
the 117bhp 2.5 single carb engine which is generally reckoned to be more
tractable and less temperamental than the triple-carb set up. Nothing is known
of the car’s early history, but an old green logbook shows that it was first UK
registered in April 1970 when it was owned by a Mr W Bateman of Ilford, Essex.
In 1971 ownership transferred to a Mr R Gilbert of Romford, who was to keep it
right up until 1999 when it was acquired by a Mr C Clarke Shrewsbury who in turn
kept it until 2008 which is when our vendor acquired the car, although he did
not register it in his name until 2012.
When
our vendor acquired the car it was complete but had been off the road for some
time and much of the dark blue paintwork had been stripped off for a restoration
which never materialised. Our vendor entrusted the Lancia to Italian car
specialist Steve Hobbs of Birmingham for a full restoration. An eccentric genius
who would only work at his own pace and only on cars that he considered worthy
of his attention, Steve spent many hundreds of hours bringing the aluminium
coachwork up to his customary standard.
Although there are no invoices for this stage of the restoration,
we are told that it cost some £25,000 at a ‘mate rate’ price of £25 per hour.
His work speaks for itself and the fit and finish is probably at least as good
as when it first left the factory 60+ years ago. Steve also got the car running
and driving but then sadly fell ill and was unable to complete the
job.
From 2015 – 2017 the car was entrusted to
Hennessy Motorsport of Worcestershire, invoices showing that a further £12,300
was spent on the car during this period, again at a ‘mate rate’ of £35 per hour.
This included a full repaint in Aston Martin Oak Green Metallic, a subtle colour
which changes under different light conditions (see last photo). Interestingly,
although green was never a standard Flaminia colour, it became apparent during
the restoration that this car had originally been painted olive green, hence the
decision to opt for a similar shade today.
Other work at this stage included: Solex carb overhaul; propshaft
overhaul; radiator refurbished with new hoses and fresh anti-freeze; oil cooler
refurbished; fresh oil and filters; new fuel pump and fuel lines; new ignition
parts; new Cibie headlamps with halogen bulbs; new exhaust system; new front
windscreen rubber; new set of correct Michelin X 165x400 tyres and inner tubes –
essential to preserve the steering delicacy and ride quality of these
thoroughbred cars.
A complete new wiring loom
was also made and fitted by Winston Teague at a cost of £3,872. New mirror
polished stainless steel bumpers were specially made by Group Harrington of
Vietnam at a cost of around £1,600 and they are excellent, superior to the
chrome originals in every way. The interior was sympathetically retrimmed by
Andy Taylor, another eccentric genius, with a cloth headlining, woollen carpets
bound in leather, black leather dash top, brown leather door cards and rear
parcel shelf. The leather seats are original although they have been colour
changed from cream to brown.
When Hennessy
Motorsport relocated in 2017 the Flaminia was put into storage for a couple of
years before being sent to Lancia specialist Tanc Barratt of Ludlow with the
intention of getting him to finally finish the job off. Then Covid struck and
the whole world ground to a halt, the Flaminia languishing in a corner of Tanc’s
showroom ever since.
In August this year Tanc
rebuilt the starter motor, freed off the gear selector rods and mechanism,
replaced the gearbox oil and got the car running and driving again (using a
slave fuel tank lest the original tank be contaminated), confirming that the
engine sounded good, the oil pressure was healthy and it went through the gears
smoothly.
As you can see in the photos, the car
is now nearing the finish line and just needs an enthusiastic new owner who can
carry out the final detailing yet required. Most parts to complete the job are
stored in the boot, including two new door windows, a set of Superleggera badges
and sundry useful spares. Copies of two factory workshop manuals (both in
English, one 200 pages long and the other 50 pages) are also present and will
doubtless come in handy.
As the car has moved
between three restorers over the last 15 years it is possible that a few minor
trim items may have gone astray. It will certainly need new quarterlight
window rubbers, new window winder handles and a new steering wheel centre boss.
No doubt other jobs will also become apparent as the car is gradually eased back
into life.
This bespoke Italian beauty looks a
million dollars as it is and should leave ample scope for the remedial works yet
required at the guide price suggested.
For
more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]
* All charges are subject to VAT