Believe it or not, the Lancia Beta Montecarlo started life as a Fiat. Codenamed X1/8, the car was a Pininfarina styling study designed to be a new Fiat sports car. At the same time, rival stylists Bertone were working on Project X1/9, a smaller and more delicate design that ultimately became the one chosen by Fiat.
But all was not lost. The X1/8 was still considered beautiful, and with Lancia needing a new sports model to not only expand its range but also give it something to base its next rally car on as a successor to the Stratos.
Thus, the Beta Montecarlo was born – not Monte Carlo as it is often mistakenly written. Introduced in 1975, the model was offered as both a Coupé and a targa-topped Spyder, the former being by far the more common.
In 1978, a Series 2 model appeared and it was this model on which the famous Lancia 037 rally car was based, hence making it more desirable than the earlier cars. The later models were also more potent with 118bhp, the see-through rear buttresses being the main point of identity between each series.
The later cars also dropped the Beta name, so this 1981 car is simply a Lancia Montecarlo. It’s a cool thing, fresh into the UK from South Africa, where the dry climate has been kind to its fragile metal.
The car comes with all of the import paperwork complete and a NOVA declaration showing that all due taxes have been paid.
It also has its South African registration document, though service history is rare from cars from the province so there’s no known history, other than that it’s a two-owner car and the mileage of 59,000km (just under 38,000 miles) is believed genuine.
The vendor specialises in importing cars from South Africa and will happily help the buyer complete the registration process if the car says in the UK, where it will qualify for tax and MOT exemption.
The interior of the Lancia has been retrimmed in grey leather, which features on both the seats and the door cards, with matching new grey carpets. It’s very smart and well-presented, with a modern stereo-CD player and a good, crack-free dashboard.
The rest of the interior is fairly tidy, too, with a smart wooden gear knob and a three-spoke Momo steering wheel featuring the Lancia insignia.
The boot area is excellent with no visible rot and it has its original jack and tool kit. In the photos, a window winder handle is missing. The vendor has sourced a replacement and it is due to be delivered, so will be fitted before sale.
The Montecarlo has to be one of the best-looking Lancias ever made – and that’s going against a pretty impressive back catalogue.
It was the first car to be both designed and built fully in-house by Pininfarina and was a beautifully executed thing, with delicate detailing and a timeless trapezoid profile.
This one is astonishingly solid. It has had a repaint at some point in its life, along with some smart period alloys and refurbished plastic parts, but the main structure is unrestored and the floors, engine bay and inner wings are all in solid order.
As for the paint itself, it’s really tidy with just some minor blemishes on one wing and some damaged trim to one side vent. Inside the engine bay, the car has its original paint and sound deadening material, and the inner structure appears solid. The vendor reports that he has inspected the car on a lift and that it is in excellent structural condition. He’s happy to have it undersealed for the new owner to protect it, but hasn’t done so yet as he has no wish to hide anything.
There’s something wonderfully eager about the 2.0-litre Twin Cam, which fires up instantly and chatters away enthusiastically waiting for you to blip the throttle.
In standard tune, the ‘Lampredi’ engine makes an enchanting noise and this one idles well, holding ood temperature and responding well to the throttle.
We were able to drive it a short distance on private land and can confirm that it appears to run well with no noises, smoke or overheating issues.
We can also confirm that all of the gears engage correctly and that the steering and brakes feel suitably fit for service. The odometer reads 59,927km and while there is no paperwork to back this up, the overall condition of the car suggests that it is correct.
The Montecarlo is one of Lancia’s finest post-war moments and is both a great car to look at and a fine car to drive.
This is an extremely smart example of the breed,and is in remarkable order. Lancias of this vintage earned a reputation for rot that, sadly, was far from unfounded. Finding one that’s not a festering heap of rust is a rare and unusual delight but coming from a dry country and having never seen a salted road, this is one of them. A gorgeous thing.
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1981 Lancia Montecarlo
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