One to Buy: ex-works RAC Rally-winning 1970 Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF
/
With stints in Formula 1 and top flight sports car racing having helped edge Lancia towards bankruptcy, the Turin firm, renowned for its innovative engineering solutions, was sold to the Pesenti family in 1956. The best part of ten years then elapsed during which motor sport played a distant second to getting the company back on a secure financial footing.
Once this was achieved, Lancia established HF Squadra Corse which, under the direction of Cesare Fiorio, the firm began to compete with the highly rated Fulvia Coupe. Following a tentative few outings in 1965, Lancia subsequently released the high performance Fulvia 1.3 HF in 1966 which formed the basis for an increasingly serious international rally campaign.
A 1.6 HF followed in late 1968 and continued Lancia’s winning ways; by the end of 1973, Fulvias had won the Italian Rally Championship for nine straight years along with the precursor to the World Rally Championship, the International Championship for Manufacturers, in 1972.
Currently on the market with Phoenix Green Garage in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, is a veteran of Lancia’s 1970 campaign: chassis 818.540 001411.
Harry Kallstrom and Gunnar Haggbom gave the car its debut on Rally Sweden, posting a DNF having run second. Claudio Maglioli and Sandro Munari then took it to ninth overall and first in class on the Targa Florio, after which Sergio Barbasio and Mario Manucci collected a second place finish on the Rally del Friuli e delle Alpi Orientali.
Owing to damage incurred, chassis ‘001411’ was subsequently re-shelled. It then posted a DNF on the Rally San Martino di Castrozza (Amilcare Ballestrieri / Daniele Audetto) and finished fourth at the Rallye der 1000 Minuten (Kallstrom / Haggbom).
On its final outing as a works entry, chassis ‘001411’ was driven by Kallstrom and Haggbom to victory at the end-of-season RAC Rally.
The car was subsequently sold off and used predominantly for hillclimbing. It is today offered fresh from nearly four decades of single family ownership and, following a 2019 rebuild, is ready for its next custodian to enjoy.
