1968 Lancia Fulvia Sport Competizione Zagato – Auction Car of the Week
January 14, 2024
There are race cars and then there are race cars. Bona fide competition heroes that have the history, silverware and ensuing kudos points to back them up, and this 1968 Lancia Fulvia Sport Competizione Zagato is one such legendary racer.
Designed for the official Lancia Racing Team this rare and historically significant Lancia Fulvia was owned and driven very much in anger by acclaimed Sicilian racer Angelo Rizzo and later by the gentleman driver Emanuele Parrinello, very much validating its competition credentials.
At the end of the 1960s the director of the Lancia Racing Department, Cesare Fiorio, ordered a handful of special examples of the Fulvia from acclaimed Italian coachbuilder Zagato. These unique models featured lightened, aluminium bodywork (as well as plexiglass windows to keep the weight down) that were based on the 1300 version of the Lancia Fulvia Sport, which was already a huge success for the famous Italian auto maker. Thus was born one of the most significant cars of the period at competitive level, the Fulvia Sport Competizione.
With its 1.3-litre, V4 engine the racing version of the Fulvia Sport Zagato was light and powerful, as well as comfortable to drive thanks to its front-wheel drive setup. In the golden days of hill climbs, rallies and epic endurance races, it sent shivers down the spine, and what’s more, it had a massive dose of Italian style thanks to the inimitable aesthetics of the famed Milanese body shop.
Intended for private teams and drivers, this race version was produced in incredibly limited numbers – just 25 according to accredited sources – and was most at home at the Targa Florio, the esteemed endurance race held on the public roads in the mountains of Sicily where the Lancia took class wins in 1968, ’69 and ’70. Proof, meet pudding.
Out of those 25 it’s believed that just 19 remain, including this example – chassis number 1905, which has been maintained and preserved in exceptional cosmetic and mechanical condition. After numerous successful races (including the aforementioned Targa Florio in the late ’60s and the famed Catania-Etna hill climb) at the hands of Rizzo and later Parrinello, the car was retired from competition and was repainted in Lancia Blue, a shade in which it stayed until the early ’90s when it was restored back to its original appearance as it stands now.
That characteristic San Siro Red livery that Zagato originally chose presents beautifully but the car is also mechanically spot on and ready to dive back into spirited racing. Complete with (amongst other competition parts) twin 35 Dell’Orto carburettors, new Inox Aros exhaust with Gr4 manifold, 10/37 gearbox prepared by Officina Ratto and adjustable shock absorbers all round it’s just begging to be driven, and driven hard.
The car’s sporting heritage is backed up by historical race photos, entry lists and competition results, as well as various chronicles of the period as well as numerous magazine features, too. If you’re looking to get into historic racing then you could do a hell of a lot worse than this rather rare Lancia Fulvia Sport Competizione Zagato. This is the real deal. Not only that but you’ll be the proud custodian of a proper slice of Lancia history. What’s not to like?
