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Temporary UK Import
See UK Registration/Import Status Guide in catalogue.

Beginning its long-held reputation for quality and innovation, the first Lancia rolled out of the Torino factory in 1907, the brainchild of the great engineer and racing driver Vincenzo Lancia. For the five decades during which Lancia remained a family-owned business – itself a record in the volatile and uncertain business of Italian automobile manufacture – it built one remarkable model after another: Lambda, Dilambda, Astura, Artena, Aprilia, Aurelia, Flaminia, and Fulvia.

The now legendary Astura model was introduced in 1931 with a 2.6-liter, narrow-angle V-8 engine. By 1934, it had been enlarged to 2.9 liters for added low-end torque, and the chassis’ advanced specification included power-assisted brakes, adjustable rear shock absorbers, central chassis lubrication, and a light, easy-to-master gearbox. Top speed was more than 80 mph, with handling, roadholding, and brakes to match. The Astura chassis was available in long- and short-wheelbase versions, and the greatest Italian carrozzerie, such as Pinin Farina, Castagna, and Viotti competed to create luxurious, beautiful, and sporty bodies for it. As a result of these commissions, Asturas became regular concours d’elegance prize winners in the 1930s, and continue to be so today, 90 years hence.

The stunning Astura offered here, chassis 33-5301, is among the 328 Corto (short) 122” (3,100 mm) wheelbase examples built. According to its certificate of origin on file, the finished chassis was delivered to Pinin Farina in summer 1936, where it was outfitted with the spectacular, rakish, and sporting cabriolet body it wears today – named the Tipo Bocca – which was designed by Mario Revelli di Beaumont. It is one of just six such cabriolets, each subtly different, that were commissioned by Vittorio Bocca, who operated a Lancia dealership in Biella; the six cars were divided into short- and long-chassis variants.

The design included several intricate and delicately constructed components that complement the coachwork’s design, including a folding V-shaped windshield, a waterfall-style grille with an unusual combination of vertical and horizontal chrome bars, finely detailed bonnet-side vents, and a chrome side molding that runs the length of the car and ingeniously accents the coachwork, adds visual length, and encircles the bootlid. Inside, a delicate chrome strip frames the Art Deco-style cockpit, which features an engraved instrument binnacle, basket-weave pattern leather seats, wooden seatback caps, as well as Bakelite handles and control knobs. Desirably constructed on the Corto chassis, 33-5301 is believed by the consignor to have been delivered new in Germany, and may have been displayed at the Berlin Motor Show in 1937. It is fitted with a circular-dial, dashboard-mounted Telefunken radio that provides an additional hint of its possible early German history.

In 1982, the Astura was discovered by a Swiss collector in New York in a deteriorated, unrestored state. He soon imported it to his native land whereupon a detailed restoration was begun, and the project reportedly spanned an astonishing 38 years.

Various talented Swiss craftsmen were retained to bring the Lancia to its current, attractive presentation in anthracite metallic, which is perfectly complemented by its oxblood leather interior. The Astura has now rejoined its surviving Bocca sister cars, one of which was awarded Best of Show at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® in 2016, the only Lancia ever to take the top prize at the prestigious event. This award aptly underscores not only the reputation and status of the Lancia marque, but also the high regard in which the Astura model is held, and the undeniable elegance of the Bocca design.

In the care of the consignor, a fanatical Lancista, the Astura has been treated to significant post-restoration tuning and improvement by the respected Jonathan Wood Restorations, Ltd., including an overhaul of the front suspension, brakes and instruments. Today, the Lancia presents extraordinarily well, retaining its proper Marchal head and fog lights, trim, lenses, streamlined door handles, and countless dazzling details. The owner describes the Astura as the perfect combination of prewar classic, postwar sports car, and European exotic.

Rare and widely admired when new, the Lancia Astura Bocca is now revered as one of the most beautiful European prewar cars ever built. Unshown since its completion, this exquisite Lancia represents a rare opportunity for devotees of the marque and those with an eye for artfully designed and ingeniously built automobiles.