“ One of Lancia's most beautiful 2-door designs. The 1600 HF was the "pinnacle" of the Fulvia range, securing Lancia's first International Rally Championship title in 1972 ”
One of the chaps in the office summed this up nicely: “This is a very cool project, and well worth finishing as they’re very pretty coupes.”

Background
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 slowly evolved over the years into the 1600cc unit you see here; with up to 132bhp, the delightful little Fulvia – it weighs under a tonne – finally had the power to back up its achingly gorgeous looks.

It also thrives on revs, which is no hardship – and nor is the fact it sends its power to the front wheels via a dog-leg five-speed gearbox.

With leaf springs and a beam axle on the rear, and wishbones and a single leaf spring on the front, the suspension might sound crude but don’t be misled because a well-sorted Fulvia is an absolute joy to drive.

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.

Overview
The 1600 HF marked the Italian firm’s reentry into motorsport in 1965 after a ten-year hiatus. Placed 8th overall in its debut event, the Tour de Corse, it went on to win the Italian Rally Championship almost every year from 1965 through to 1973, only failing in 1970.

Of course, Lancia needed to homologate the HF by selling it to the public, and this right-hand drive example is thought to be one of just 400 out of a total of 3,670 examples built.

As a post-1970 example, it also boasts a five-speed gearbox for more relaxed high-speed touring plus revised suspension and an alternator, making it a beautifully balanced combination of sporting prowess and refined grand tourer.

Like most of our office, you’ve probably dreamed of buying a Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF project – and while professional ethics prohibit us bidding on this one, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you making your dreams come true.

However, there is some bad news because ‘JGO 442K’ is very much a project; for example, we propped the windscreen in the aperture for the photos. It isn’t fitted and nor are we even certain that everything you’ll need to complete it is there.

We’d welcome potential bidders in person to inspect it though, and while you scrabble through the boxes of parts, we’ll pop the kettle on. Maybe even see if we can uncover some biscuits.

Maybe. Depends how hungry we’ve been. You could bring some though. Preferably chocolate-coated.

Exterior
The Fulvia sits four-square with a beautiful stance and well-fitting panels, even if the driver’s door sits a little proud. The flanks are free of ripples, and there are no significant dents or damage either, just a few minor dinks along the nearside front wing’s swageline, and both offside wings.

Rust is hard to assess but it seems largely clear even if there are bubbles along the top of the nearside front wing, door and roof, and along the offside rear wing.

The blue paintwork, complete with a gold pinstripe on either side, also looks decent from a distance, although the scratches and hazing become apparent as you get closer. The RAC Vehicle History Check shows it was previously red.

A ball stud is also fitted to the front centre of the bonnet too, perhaps to mount a mascot or carry a pendant?

If it were ours, we’d be tempted to treat it to a two-stage machine polish and reassess; it might come back to a standard you’d be happy with, although if you intend to show the car then we suspect you’ll need to fork out for a full respray.

As for the chromework, it might be dull and even flaking on the rear bumper, but it isn’t too badly pitted or rusted and it all seems to be there, including the badges.

The iconic quad-headlamp array is present and correct, and it like the front indicators, is in a good condition. The rear lamp lenses and reflectors are all in good shape too, with no chips, cracks, or other damage.

The glazing is all there, although it seems like the rear screen is either delaminating or just plain scratched and faded. The front screen has also just been rested in place for the photography and will need to be fully fitted as part of the rebuild.

The 14-inch Cromodora alloy wheels are free of serious damage, but they are scuffed around their rims, and the paint/lacquer is peeling.

They would benefit from being refurbished, which you could perhaps have done at the same time you fit new tyres, because the 175HR14 Michelin XAS rubber has perished since they were made in 2008.

Nevertheless, that the wheels are fitted with matching and high-quality tyres is a good sign and usually indicates a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly.

View car and current bid price HERE