One to Buy: ex-works 1971 Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF
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Lancia’s ambitious motor sport programme of the early 1950s had seen the company compete in both top flight sports car racing and Formula 1. However, money problems saw the financially stretched Lancia family pull the plug soon after the death of star driver Alberto Ascari in May 1955.
Scuderia Lancia’s assets were sold to Enzo Ferrari who went on to race the promising D50 F1 car for the next couple of seasons.
In 1956 the Pesenti family took control of Lancia.
The best part of a decade then passed until Lancia returned to motor sport; 1965 saw HF Squadra Corse (which had originally started out as a privateer racing team founded by Lancia enthusiasts) become the official works team under the management of Cesare Fiorio.
Various High Fidelity iterations of the front-wheel drive Fulvia Coupe were subsequently produced and Lancia went on to win the Italian Rally Championship every year bar one between 1965 and 1973.
In 1972, the Fulvia won the International Championship for Manufacturers which was the precursor to the inaugural 1973 World Rally Championship. By this time, the Lancia motor company had been sold to another new owner: the Fiat Group.
Currently on offer at The Hairpin Company in Compton Basset, Wiltshire, is one of Lancia’s works Fulvias from the company’s successful 1971 campaign.
Chassis 2263 was used in five events that season. It picked up a brace of outright wins in its final two outings (at the Rally Alpi Orientali and Rallye Medio Adriatico) plus a class win (and third overall) on the Rally 4 Regioni. The car’s other two appearances saw it fail to finish the Rally d’ Italia and bag sixth on the Rallly 999 Minuti. 2263’s driver roster included Harry Kallstrom, Simo Lampinen and Sergio Barbasio.
Today the car is offered in excellent condition with an FIA HTP valid until the end of 2026.
