Description
The SI Beta Montecarlo has always been a pretty rare car, right from the get-go, especially in the UK. Records show that of the 5, 635 SI cars built, only 455 were right hand drive Coupes. Now there are less than 100 examaples surviving in the UK This fine-looking example is one of those being a UK specification and supplied car first registered in April 1977.
The last owner acquiring the car in 2008. That owner was reportedly an engineer and seemingly made it his mission to restore and recommission the Montecarlo regardless of cost. During his tenure every aspect of the car, both mechanical and aesthetic, seems to have been addressed. This work included a very thorough body restoration and respray in around 2017 to its current Rosso Monza Red.
Current owner, Keith, acquired the car in November 2023 and, due to distance and circumstances was unable to try the car out for size……. literally. Whilst Keith loves everything about his Montecarlo it was not designed with his 6’3” frame in mind which has sadly necessitated its sale. Despite their physical incompatibility Keith has continued to lavish the Lancia with attention. Work during his tenure includes the usual, and recommended, brake servo bypass, new timing belt and water pump, the fitment of a new X-01 road and track exhaust system, a full service and the fitment of a new battery. Keith’s expenditure is approaching £4, 500 with only around 100 miles or so covered during his time with the Montecarlo.
Exterior
The overriding impressions left when seeing the Montecarlo in the metal are threefold. By today’s standards it is small and lithe…. meaning light (970 kg kerb weight). It’s a remarkable design as you might expect from the maestros at Pininfarina. It is hard to compute that this car is 47 years old as it looks much more contemporary. It presents beautifully in its bright red livery and contrasting black accents and decals.
The paintwork, believed to date from around 2017, is pristine. It is appropriately thickly and smoothly applied, and every panel exhibits a deep and lustrous sheen. Despite a thorough restoration the originality is showroom faithful down to the black nose section and roof trailing edge and the matt black sill level decals. The Pininfarina badges are present and correct together with Sergio’s insisted upon script badges. A visual highlight are the glazed flying buttresses which are, surely, preferable and more desired than the solid “sail” type that some SI cars featured. This example the engine lid iteration with the most cooling vents in it, too.
The diminutive looking “bowtie” 13-inch alloy wheels are, thankfully, still present and look amazing courtesy of a 2018 refurbishment. A set of tyres in the correct 185/ 70 factory specification are fitted. It is worth noting that not a jot of corrosion, paint bubbling, scuffing or chipping is present.
Interior
The Montecarlo’s cabin is a timely reminder of how little you actually need to create a sports focused car interior. A set of low-slung but comfortable sports seats, an alloy and leather steering wheel, some closely spaced pedals and a gear lever that falls readily to hand. Everything else is, surely, superfluous and just a niggling distraction from the matter at hand.
The seats seem to have been re-covered at some point and are in great shape. The central panels are arranged in horizontal pleats and dressed in an Alcantara style grey fabric. The supportive bolsters are contrasting in a burgundy hued textured vinyl. Some mystery surrounds the “LDD” stitching and accompanying headrest logos. Interrogation of the paperwork, however, reveals that an earlier owner had a company called LDD which used a very similar logo. We can only assume he had the seat covers specially commissioned and fitted.
The driver looks ahead at a twin spoked alloy and leather steering wheel which sits ahead of a pair of super-legible Jaeger gauges with chunky, yellow needles. A bank of horizontal drum style ancillary gauges and warning lights sit to the right of the binnacle. The headlining is in a dark padded vinyl, perhaps offering Keith some protection when a bump causes his head to thump into it!
The grey, edge bound carpets are in great order with just a small amount of cracking to the driver’s heel pad. The door cards are a delight finished in a red, self-patterned fabric, burgundy coloured carpet with chunky padded vinyl panels fitted. In the nose of the Montecarlo is a surprisingly spacious luggage compartment. Fitted with a grey, hardwearing carpet this area is temporarily home to the spare wheel and tyre. At some point in the past an additional brake servo has been fitted and boxed here. The Montecarlo came with just servo assisted front brakes so this additional unit would have originally served the rear set. Both servos have been bypassed to create a non-assisted set up. Which can be reveresed if desired. Mechanical
The Montecarlo is powered by the, now legendary, Fiat Twin-cam “Lampredi” engine. At one time or another derivatives of the Aurelio Lampredi deigned unit found their way into cars as diverse as the FSO Polonez and the Morgan Plus-4. In the Montecarlo the 1, 995 cc, four-cylinder unit produced around 120bhp with power fed to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. As we have seen, it is a light car, so this set up was good for nearly 120mph and 0-60mph in around 9 seconds.
It soon becomes clear that this example has wanted for nothing, mechanically, in the last 15 years or so with both the previous and current owners sparing no expense in keeping the car in prime order. The engine bay is surprisingly spacious once the spare wheel is removed, and access is almost unparalleled for a mid-engined car. The condition is excellent with all inner panels straight and clean and the original data plates present and correct.
The underside is certainly its equal with no sign of leaks, corrosion, deformations or any other areas of concern. Plenty of preservative underseal is present and that high-specification new exhaust system is best viewed from under here.
History Highlights
This little Lancia comes with a generous paperwork archive with a folder full of invoices. The current V5 registration document is present, and this classifies the car as an Historic Vehicle. As such it is now considered MoT exempt and zero rated for VED. The last MoT was in 2019 at 56, 869 miles.
The bulk of the remainder of the paperwork consists of numerous invoices detailing the work undertaken and parts sourced both in the current ownership (almost £4, 500 expended) and before. Additional highlights include an original workshop manual, parts manual (very rare and incredibly useful) and an owner’s manual. Two original keys are also included.
There are a number of spares included, too, chief amongst these is a pair of twin trumpet DCOE carburettors and accompanying manifold in order to upgrade the Montecarlo from a single to a twin carburettor set up.
The Montecarlo was a remarkable car from the start. It was bold, refreshing and even possibly ahead of its time. Pininfarina’s holistic input really helps stand the car apart from most of its peers. Original right hand drive SI coupes were always a mere fraction of overall production, and that position has only been exacerbated by the passing years. An iconic design from a revered marque combined with a miniscule supply is always a great combination in the classic car world.
This example doubles down on that winning recipe by being in an excellent, reportedly fault free and corrosion free, low mileage condition. As many survivors have, this one has enjoyed a few sensible upgrades to enhance and improve the ownership proposition. In short, a beautiful example ready to use and enjoy immediately.
