If not sold before, this car will be shown on our stand at the Techno Classica in Essen.

You will find our stand in hall 5, number 213.

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CHASSIS DESIGNED BY GIOVANNI BASSO
BODY DESIGNED BY GIOVANNI MICHELOTTO

1 of just 2 examples ever built
A splendid custom-built car created by Stabilimenti Farina on a tubular chassis designed and developed by the Turin car designer Giovanni Basso, Basso became a legend in Turin
Giovanni Basso built 11 cars in his career, all Lancia Aprilia-derived, and 8 of them survived
With a very rare body designed by Giovanni Michelotto and made from aluminium, the lines are similar to the beautiful Cisitalia 202, due to the fact that the car has the same designer
No doubts are possible about the looks of the car as the Cisitalia 202 received a place in the museum of Modern Art in New York
Superb Lancia engineering
A very early example from one of motoring’s most charismatic marques combined with a coupé coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina of Turin, the family firm where styling maestro Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina learned his craft
This particular example featured in the cover page of the well known Italian “La Manovella” magazine’s October 1977
ASI Gold Plate recipient
Lancia was established in 1906, in Turin, Italy, by the famous racing driver Vincenzo Lancia.

His company soon became known for elegant design and impressive technical innovations, a prime example of which was the Lambda of 1922, which is now regarded as one of the great pre-war engineering masterpieces.

Lancia has been always well known because of their advanced technology which was resulting in a high priced car in comparison to the competition.

Giovanni Basso was a former Lancia engine department foreman when he started his own activity in 1946.

He built his first car, a sport Lancia Aprilia-derived in 1946, to run in the National hillclimb championship.

Giovanni Basso built 11 cars in his career, all Lancia Aprilia-derived, and 8 of them survived.

From 1947 to 1949 Basso produced 3 spyders and 1 coupè, coached by Ghia and 2 coupès and one spyder coached by Stabilimenti Farina.

These last 3 cars were commissioned by Alcide Ferri, the official Lancia dealer in Udine.

The first Coupè won the category prize at the 1949 Villa d’Este elegance concours, the second, equipped with the twin-cam engine, was sold to a customer.

ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC EXAMPLE

This specific Lancia Coupe, built by hand in 1949, is one of just 2 examples produced by the Turin car designer Giovanni Basso and coached by Stabilimenti Farina.

These cars were commissioned by Alcide Ferri, the official Lancia dealer in Udine, Italy.

The designer Giovanni Basso had a little workshop in via Modena 21, in Turin, after the WWII. Basso became a legend in Turin.

The Basso’s frames were “developed” by the most renowned coach builders of the time and successfully employed in the sports car sector, and presented at the most important competitions of elegance.

This specific Lancia has such a tubular frame and this is combined with a beautiful and very rare body designed by Giovanni Michelotto and made from aluminium.

This specific Berlinetta example has design-wise a lot from the looks of the beautiful Cisitalia 202 due to the fact that the car has the same designer.

No doubts are possible about the looks of the car as the Cisitalia 202 received a place in the museum of Modern Art in New York.

The two Coupé examples were commissioned with a twin-cam engine because of the desire to participate in races.

Unfortunately the twin-cam engine wasn’t reliable enough and the main problem was that Mr. Basso didn’t think to produce a series of spare parts.

So when Lancia introduced the Aurelia B10 to the Turin motor show, in May 1950, the factory made available immediately the spare engines for the official dealers.

Mr. Alcide Ferri, the official Lancia dealer in Udine, who commissioned the cars, bought some of them and replaced the twin-cam engines with the new 6 cylinders 1,754 liter.

When he realized the engine-gearbox block was pliable without bigger modifications, he replaced both the twin-cam engines and made new drive shafts.

After the WWII, from 1947 to 1954 the Trieste area was controlled by the UK army.

Eventually in 1950 the UK Governor decided to introduce new regulations, similar to the Italian and Trieste equalised the license plates with the TS prefix followed by 4-5 numbers.

Here in August 1950 the Lancia was homologated and Mr. Ferri, the dealer, provided a factory document stating the B10-1159 was produced with the B10-1217 engine.

So the car was considered an Aurelia B10 because there were no alternatives to homologate the car otherwise.

The first recorded owner was the “Impresa di Costruzioni Antonini e Fragiacomo” the 8th of August 1950, it had the TS number plates of the Province of Trieste, Italy.

A copy of the first Italian registration in Trieste is in the history file of the car.

Subsequently it was sold the 28th of April 1954 to Mr. Rodolfo Roetl, Lancia Dealer in Trieste.

In August 1977 the Lancia was purchased from a Mr. Rinaldi from Trieste, Italy.

The car was restored during the 70s where the owner made the same engine modifications adopted on the Lancia Spyder from Mr. Ferri’s, the Lancia Dealer in Udine who commissioned the cars to Mr. Basso.

In 1951 Mr. Ferri, during a an hillclimb competition, noted that the B10 engine on his Lancia Basso Spyder had no power enough to compete with the other in the same class.

So he replaced the B10 engine with a new B20 engine, but because the radiator was too big compared with the space in the bay engine and fearing that the water reached high temperatures quickly, he decided to open four air intakes on the sides and to replace the plain bonnet with a new one provided with a fifth air intake.

The Stabilimenti Farina delivered the new air intakes, the same fitted on the Simca 8 sport, and a new bonnet, the same fitted on the Ferrari 166 cabriolet.

Later, in October 1987, the new owner was Mr Corrà in Vicenza.

This Lancia shows a beautiful patina.

This Lancia displays the Automotoclub Storico Italiano (ASI) Gold Plate on its grille. This gold plate is validated by former ASI President to the highest degree A, and it marks this Lancia as being as original as it was when manufactured.

The ASI Certificate of Identity is in Italy is the highest recognition that a classic car can receive.

This particular example featured in the cover page of the well known Italian “La Manovella” magazine’s October 1977.

This Lancia was in the same ownership for decades in the area of Vicenza, Italy and recently sold in February 2023 in Reggio Emilia for 719.000,- Euro. The invoice is on file.

The Lancia was sold to Germany, where it passed into the hands of a very good friend and customer of us.

We traded in the Lancia as the dreamcar of our friend / customer arrived and he decided to part exchange a large part of his collection.

The car is documented by the automotive historian and marque specialist Paolo Giusti.

This historically significant Lancia comes with several old photos, copies of period documentation and the original of the Italian Carta di Circolazione regularly stamped from 1977 til 2022.

CONDITION EXTERIOR

The beautiful lines of its aluminium body showing a restrained elegance, the car presents well in Amaranto (Maroon Red) with a wonderful Beige cloth interior.

The body has a beautiful patina. One can see that this is a car in a unique condition which shows the building quality of the past.

The paint shows here and there signs of use as well as the aluminium and chrome parts.

This original looks are beautiful for the car and we hope that the new owner will keep this original fabulous looks.

CONDITION INTERIOR

The interior extremely stylish and full of extremely nice details.

The meters and knobs and buttons are incredibly beautiful.

The bakelite steering wheel is showing the period of the production of the car but more important is the condition of the interior.

The condition can be best described as impressively beautiful but not perfect.

The condition is as it should be for this car which means that the interior is looking as the exterior.

Perfect for the original condition of this car.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE

For some years, we drove the Mille Miglia in a 1928 Lancia Lambda.

We already knew from the books that Lancia had always been synonymous with state of art technology and we were completely convinced after our 2018, 2019 and 2020 Mille Miglia experience.

The timelessly stylish body is accompanied by wonderful road manners and a delightful engine.

This Lancia is indeed a special and rare automobile, with wonderful coachwork and superb chassis engineering, making it suitable for any gentleman or lady’s fine collection, as well as numerous vintage driving events

Driven 5-6 times/yearly in warm, dry weather, the car starts and runs very well, the battery was recently replaced and the gearbox shifts very well, provided respect is paid to correct shifting technique, and the electrical system is in good condition.

Due to Lancia’s racing histories and innovative and unconventional technical features, this Lancia is not only looking as a piece of art but is also driving extremely well.

Disclaimer
The information provided on this website has been compiled by The Houtkamp Collection with the utmost care. The information contained within this advert is provided ‘as-is’, without warranties as to its accuracy whether expressed or implied and is intended for informational purposes only. The Houtkamp Collection is not liable for any errors or mistakes.