Lancia Flavia Vignale Convertible

Lancia unveiled the Flavia, their new mid-range saloon, at the Turin Motorshow in 1960. In typical Lancia fashion, it was sophisticated, avant-garde and priced so that only the wealthy could afford one.

Built at a time when all Lancias were made in RHD, even for their home market, the company clearly weren’t afraid to follow their own path, selling high quality cars to a fanatical customer base. Always beautifully engineered, its not for nothing that Lancias from this era are often referred to as 'the thinking man's Alfa Romeo'.

Initially produced with a 1,500cc flat-four engine, the Flavia soon increased in capacity to 1,800ccs, finally ending up as the Lancia 2000 with fuel injection in 1969. Alongside the quirky nose-heavy saloon, Lancia also showed off an elegant Coupe styled by Pininfarina, a rather weird Zagato bodied Sport coupe and the drop-dead gorgeous Vignale Convertible which came from the pen of Giovanni Michelotti who was working for the firm at the time.

Just 1,601 Convertibles were produced, making this rather sorry example a rare car indeed. Rescued from a shipping container where it has been stored for some time, it is clearly in need of total restoration. Given its pedigree and the elegance of its design, it would certainly be worth the effort. Bidders are advised that it is sold without paperwork.