Delivered via Denzel to Bad Gastein
One of only 682 second-series Touring Coupés
Breathtakingly beautiful design by Touring
Sophisticated mechanicals beneath Superleggera coachwork
At the 1957 Geneva Motor Show, Lancia unveiled the successor to the Aurelia. As had almost become tradition in Turin, everything technically possible and financially just about defensible was packed into the new car, which once again took its name from a Roman road: the Via Flaminia. The factory racing team was history by then, but its technical sophistication lived on quite happily in Lancia’s road cars.
The V6 was a development of the Aurelia engine, but now sat above a newly designed front axle. The gearbox remained in transaxle layout, mounted together with the differential at the rear. The saloon was soon joined by several Coupés. Pininfarina supplied the dignified two-door, Zagato something characteristically extravagant, and Carrozzeria Touring perhaps the most elegant interpretation of them all: the Flaminia GT.
Touring shortened the saloon’s wheelbase and clothed the chassis according to its tried-and-tested Superleggera recipe. A lightweight aluminium skin was stretched over a framework of thin steel tubes. The result was a slender Gran Turismo, some 200 kilograms lighter than the Pininfarina Coupé. Long bonnet, neat roof, short overhangs – apparently, not much more was needed. Touring’s Flaminia did not have to shout to be noticed. It was far too elegant for that.
Initially, a 2.5-litre V6 with a single carburettor sat beneath the bonnet. The 3C version – tre carburatori – soon followed, with three Weber carburettors and 140 bhp. From 1962, an enlarged 2.8-litre V6 brought still more power and effortless performance. By then, the Flaminia GT had arrived exactly where Lancia quite naturally saw itself at the time: in the company of Ferrari and Maserati.
Only here, there was rather less interest in spectacle. The Flaminia GT combined speed with technical delicacy and the almost demonstrative understatement that distinguished a Lancia of this era. Even auto, motor und sport was impressed by its roadholding and handling at the time.
This Flaminia GT, fitted with the desirable triple-carburettor engine, was delivered in June 1963 by importer Wolfgang Denzel to Kurt Schwaiger, a hotelier in Bad Gastein. A Flaminia GT against the backdrop of the Hohe Tauern – one can certainly imagine worse places for an Italian Gran Turismo to spend its days.
Just two years later, Schwaiger sold his sports car to a Salzburg businessman. Over the years that followed, the Flaminia changed hands several times without ever leaving Salzburg. It was registered for the last time in 1985 before finally being taken off the road two years later.
Many years have passed since then, and pleasingly they have left relatively little mark on the Flaminia. Nor does it try to hide the traces of the decades – and therein lies much of its charm. Nothing here has been restored to a high-gloss finish, nor has its history subsequently been polished into something shinier than it really was. Instead, two years ago the engine received an extensive service, the cylinder heads were fitted with new valve guides and the three Weber carburettors were overhauled. The braking system, including the master cylinder, was renewed, as were the fuel tank and exhaust system. The rear lights and door handles were rechromed, while the remainder of the exterior was left largely untouched. Inside, the original leather was thoroughly cleaned and now once again presents in its rich shade of brown.
Following this work, the Flaminia returned to the road after more than 35 years. Exactly where a piece of great Italian automotive artistry such as this belongs.