The only
short wheelbase factory racing Lancia Sport Prototipo
Zagato, a rare 1960s competition car remembered for its
quirky styling including highly distinctive double
bonnet air intakes and a low-slung, sweeping form, will
come to auction in Monaco next month.
With its unique Zagato competition styling, its pedigree
as a full Lancia Works racing car including being
entered in the 1964 Targa Florio, a fully documented
history and only two owners from new with the same
ownership for over 20 years as well as being the only
SWB Lancia Sport Zagato Prototipo (chassis no: 815538
1001), RM Auctions has placed an estimate of
180,000-240,000 euros on Lot No. 379, when it rolls
through the auction hall at the Grimaldi Forum in two
weeks time.
History
In 1964, the Lancia Works team presented the Sport
Prototipo Zagato, a unique creation with a lightweight
body and numerous weight-saving measures. Its first race
was at the 1964 Targa Florio, with Marco Crosina and
Fernando Frescobaldi, using race number 184.
Unfortunately, the drivers and the car did not see the
finish line due to an unplanned off-road excursion
during the race.
After the Targa Florio entry, the car
had a very short racing history due to limited funds;
the Works team, instead, decided to race the standard
road going Flavia Zagato in the ‘Turismo’ category to
try to help the sales of that car. After a few more
outings on circuit events, the Sport Prototipo Zagato
was left in Lancia’s Reparto Corse and stored for a few
years, unused and nearly forgotten.
It was then, in 1967, that Claudio Maglioli, who was the
Italian champion with Lancia in 1965 and 1966, was still
racing for the Works team and he came across chassis no.
815538 1001 and immediately negotiated with Sandro
Fiorio, head of Lancia's racing department, to purchase
the car and any remaining spare parts. Maglioli kept the
car in his workshop for 20 years, undertaking a careful
and meticulous sympathetic restoration. Small details,
such as putting baffles in the sump to avoid oil surge
in left hand corners, were made, and the car remained
with him until 1991, when he decided to sell the 815538
1001 to the current owner, an avid Lancia collector.
Chassis 815538 1001 had many special features, starting
from the light alloy body that was some 220 kilograms
lighter, compared to the standard Lancia Flavia Zagato,
as well as the shortened wheelbase for better handling.
The Sport Prototipo Zagato car has a very aggressive and
low slung look with twin air intakes on the bonnet for
the long carburettor trumpets to reach and breathe. Also
of note are the lower roof line, deleted bumpers and a
race specific interior, all to save weight and increase
performance. In addition, a more direct steering box was
fitted, which gave the car a much better response.
In a test drive and interview with Claudio Maglioli in
Italian magazine Ruoteclassiche, he remembers how well
the car handled. Maglioli remembers that to drive the
car quickly, you had to use the slow-in, fast-out
tactic. He reported that with clean racing lines around
the corners, this car can be as quick and as effective
as most and with a little more support from the Lancia
Works team in period, it would have gone on to be one of
the more successful race cars in Lancia’s history. The
example offered here, by its second owner, remains
relatively untouched and original, with only light
preservation work by its first owner, a Works driver.
This unique Zagato bodied competition car is a one-off
piece of Lancia history and is ready to be shown or used
on rallies and events.
Technical
Specifications
148 bhp, 1,848 cc
single overhead camshaft four-cylinder boxer engine,
four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension
with unequal-length A-arms and coil springs, live rear
axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and parallel
trailing arms, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes.
Wheelbase: 2,330 mm (91.7").
