1959 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato ‘PRE-SERIES’

Chassis no. 824.00-1022 / Engine no. 843.00-1021

• One of the first 99 examples with desirable covered headlamps- the ultimate specification
• Presented in original Bleu Lancia with blue piped cream leather interior
• Matching engine and transaxle
• Total restoration by specialists Quality Cars and Peter Bazille, November 2024 mechanical service by Lancia specialist Roberto De Checchi
• Detailed 72-page independent German appraisal by experts Klaus and Laura Kukuk
• German (EU) registered with old UK V5

“The car should be unexcelled for high-speed, long-distance touring in comfort… the quality is of a kind only possible in handmade cars, and to get it you have to be willing to pay. For those who are willing, it offers transportation that is, beyond doubt, in the fabled grand manner.”

Road & Track tries a new Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato in November 1960

Few marques generate as much loyalty and sheer enthusiasm as Lancia. Highly advanced in their day, a Lancia Granturismo of the 1950s and early 1960s was, without question, a ‘thinking man’s GT’, a car for true connoisseurs. It was also the choice of champions. The great Argentine, Juan-Manual Fangio, winner of five World Championships and the 1953 Carrera Panamericana at the wheel of a Lancia D24, chose an Aurelia B20 GT for the long journeys from Modena
or Maranello to races across the length and breadth of Europe.

Light, always powerful enough and so effortless to drive, Gianni Lancia’s creations were the ‘brain’ to Enzo Ferrari’s ‘brawn’. In Mexico in 1953, Fangio’s D24 gave away some 15mph flat out to Maglioli’s big Ferrari 375 MM yet he led home a comfortable Lancia 1-2-3. The first car from Maranello finished some 1½ hours behind.

So in 1958, when Carrozzeria Zagato, the masters of race-bred lightweight construction and aerodynamics, worked their magic on the new Flaminia GT, a classic was born.

The Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato

Zagato’s take on Lancia’s new Flaminia first appeared at the 1958 Turin Motor Show and was based on the chassis, running gear and shorter, 2,520mm wheelbase of the Flaminia GT. Clothed entirely in handcrafted aluminium, it was a typical design from the Milanese coachbuilder: low, aerodynamic and light. Under the bonnet sat a production – 119bhp, 2.5-litre, single-carb V6 – Flaminia GT engine but, thanks to Zagato’s wind-cheating design, top speed was now 180km/h.

In limited-series production the following year, the new Flaminia Sport Zagato was built on bare chassis supplied by Lancia. Inevitably, with both houses having such a fine competition record, some were raced and rallied, but the elegant coupé came into its own as a favourite of wealthy sporting motorists and more discerning figures in public life, Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni being one.
The first 99 cars bore streamlined, faired-in headlamps. In 1960, to meet new Italian regulations, these had to be changed to open headlamps. The signature ‘double bubble’ roof was a feature which allowed comfortable headroom whilst maintaining a low overall roofline.

In total, specialist sources suggest that, when production finished in 1967, some 599 Flaminia Sport Zagatos had been produced. Later cars had variations in engines and carburettors while, from 1964, the final Super Sport was a heavily restyled version with an abrupt ‘Kamm’ tail.

The purest and sleekest early cars, though, best represent the collaboration between the styling master of Milan with the engineering titan from Turin, and today are by far the most prized
by collectors.

This motor car

Factory records note that Sport Zagato chassis ‘1022’ was completed on 23 June 1959 for delivery to Zagato, where it would receive its signature ‘double bubble’ coachwork with covered headlights. They go on to state the car was finished in Blu Lancia with a Pelle Blu interior – navy with blue leather, supposedly a unique colour combination. Engine number 1021 and transaxle 36 were fitted to the car – the units it bears today.

The car is believed to have been sold new to Italy, then spending time in Portugal before it returned to Italy circa 2000 to join the world-class collection of financier Emilio Gnutti in Brescia. It was sent to Carrozzeria Quality Cars in Padova, one of Italy’s top coachbuilders, for a total, ‘body off’ restoration between 2000-2004. It emerged in concours condition to the same specification when new. At this stage, Gnutti obtained a FIVA identity card (category A3, “restored/original”) and Automotoclub Storico Italiano (ASI) certification.

Gnutti kept the Zagato for almost a decade before it was sold at auction in May 2014. It was immediately entrusted to renowned Lancia specialist Peter Bazille of B&F Touring Garage in Germany for mechanical restoration, completed in 2016 at a further cost of circa €72,000 to bring the car up to the standard of the cosmetics. It was sold to our client by Swiss dealer Lukas Huni in March 2016 at a cost of €875,000.

Maintenance since then was entrusted to Peter Bazille, although the car has only been exercised to maintain it in optimum condition. An expert appraisal was carried out by Klaus and Laura Kukuk in March 2021 at an odometer reading of 357km, their report running to 72 pages and establishing the car’s market value at €950,000.

In November 2024 the car was sent to Lancia expert Roberto De Checchi of Padova for a comprehensive mechanical service and inspection including an extensive road test.
The car was then delivered to nearby award-winning restoration specialist Quality Cars for a cosmetic refresh. The car’s odometer now reads 880km, the mileage covered since Bazille’s restoration.

Simon Kidston drove the car after the recent work and liked it – a lot.

Smooth, fast and easy to drive, sleek and elegant in appearance – almost a scaled-down version
of the contemporary Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato (coincidentally a model with which it has shared garage space in its last two collections) – this is a rare and much admired car to the ultimate specification, restored by the best in the business and benefitting from a recent service from a model expert. It would stand out in any collection.