Description
• Desirable Series 1
• Imported from Italy in 2016
• Lots of recent mechanical work carried out
• AR2278924
• 14403 Kilometres (indicated)
• 1298cc
• manual
• Red
• Black
• Left-hand drive
• Petrol
Vehicle Overview
‘WGU 530F’ is Lancia Fulvia Rallye from 1968 that’s spent decades in the same family, eventually moving from Italy to the UK in 2016 and into the owner’s care a year after that.
Finished in red and fitted with the 1. 3 engine and four-speed manual gearbox, it’s been lightly refreshed and the interior presents very well, with certain mechanical components overhauled. The engine is running a bit rough, and could do with a tune up.
Only for sale because the seller spends more time driving his Lotus Elise than he does this, the need for some attention to the bodywork should make this a very cost-effective way to get your hands on an Italian sportscar you thought you couldn’t afford any more.
Exterior
The Fulvia’s pert lines disprove the lie that a three-box silhouette must be dowdy because no car is prettier than this coupé, despite the deceptive simplicity of its lines.
And that simplicity is enhanced with some lovely details like the humble chrome bumpers fore and aft, delicate door handles on either side, quadruple headlamps to light your way, and a pair of wonderfully designed lamps at the back.
It presents well with glossy red paintwork and shiny chrome, although there are some blemishes and blistering in the paint. The bonnet and boot lid are lightweight aluminium, as they should be on early Fulvias.
It’s got good badges too, plus a set of steel wheels for the win. Mind you, they might be humble, but they’ve been recently refurbished and are fitted with a good set of chrome hubcaps and brand new, period-correct Pirelli Cinturato CA67 tyres – the perfect rubber to suit the Fulvia’s suspension geometry and handling.
Interior
This Fulvia’s cabin is sublime; Lancia was very much the upmarket option and nowhere is this more obvious than here where high-quality materials like chrome, leather, and wood make impeccable design something you can touch.
The seats, for example, are subtle and elegant yet supportive and comfortable; the engineering adage that ‘if it looks right, then it is right’ has never been more true – and they’re in great shape, being plump and virtually unmarked.
The wooden dashboard is sleek thanks to it having been refurbished with genuine wood veneer while in the seller’s care. It also plays host to a suite of beautifully marked Veglia instruments, with fresh warning light lenses and illumination having been installed by the current owner. The Fulvia’s original rubber floor mats are present and correct, and in good condition, as well as an original set of Lancia keys.
There’s also period-correct security by way of an exposed steering lock that clamps one of the ribs of the wood-rimmed, two-spoke steering wheel, which is in excellent condition. And there’s no unsightly radio wedged in the dash either – the correct blanking plate and metal Fulvia script remain.
As for the rest, the door cards are very nice and the headlining is firm and taut, even if it is a little grubby. The good-sized boot contains a spare wheel and its cover, along with a warning triangle and the tool kit.
Mechanical
One good four-speed manual gearbox was made from two used ones by the Heath Motor Company in 2018, during which brand new baulk rings, selector bushes and oil seals were fitted before reinstalling it with a new clutch and release bearing.
The Fulvia has also benefited from a pair of rebuilt Solex carburettors, an electric fuel pump and a Filter King fuel pressure regulator in recent years. A new battery too, and the seller tells us that it starts and drives, but would profit from a tune-up and a service. On the suspension side, the owner has replaced the tired original dampers with Spax adjustable units at all four corners.
During the seller's ownership, a rebuilt brake master cylinder has also been fitted, and the steering box has been adjusted for minimal play in the system.
If you can see past the grubbiness and the surface rust on some of the components, you’ll see solid, well-painted metal on the inner wings, which is important. There’s what looks like the original chassis plate, too. The underside looks to be well protected by underseal.
NB: It also comes with some spares but, as the seller puts it, they’re “nothing major”. First shown at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show, the Lancia Fulvia isn’t just a pretty face; with a front-wheel-drive layout and V4 engine it is an interesting vehicle from an engineering perspective too - and that’s without considering its considerable motorsport pedigree.
The coupé joined the saloon in 1965, and the Fulvia remained in production for 13 years, slowly gaining capacity and weight as the demands of its customer base changed.
It started life with a 58bhp 1100cc engine and evolved over the years. The 1. 3-litre engine you are looking at here produces a respectable 79bhp, enough to see the lithe Italian lightweight – it weighs under a tonne – top three figures after passing 60mph in just under twelve seconds.
Finally able to access enough power to back up its achingly gorgeous looks, the Lancia 1. 3S Rallye thrives on revs, sending its power to the front wheels via a four-speed gearbox.
Dunlop disc brakes on all four corners help bring it to a rapid stop, and they’re easy to modulate to avoid locking a wheel when conditions get slippery.
Works Fulvias competed for a decade between 1965 and 1974, racking up wins in events as diverse as the Daytona 24 Hours, the Safari Rally, and the Targa Florio.
The American motoring magazine Road & Track described the Fulvia as "a precision motorcar, an engineering tour de force", a description that few would quibble with, even today.
