The Lusso was a 2-door coupe version of the Lancia Appia. It was produced in Italy between 1959 and 1962 and only 477 copies ever saw the light of day. This example from 1960 was imported to the U.S. around 2016 by the family who purchased it new. It will need work to get back on the road, but we’re told it’s both original and complete, important for a rare automobile such as this. Located in Los Angeles, California, this nifty little set of wheels is available here on eBay for $19,500.
Appia was a primary product of Lancia and some 107,000 were produced in several variants from 1953 to 1962. They relied on a 1.1-liter V4 engine with a 4-speed manual transmission to get from Point A to Point B. The Lusso was a true hardtop with pillarless doors and windows and sported tailfins like you might find on a U.S. product of the era. The seller’s car has about 59,000 miles on the odometer, most of which were put on while it was still in Italy.
Other than tires and other consumables, we’re told everything you see here is original and untouched in terms of restoration. That includes the light blue paint which has faded to a near shade of grey. There is some rust in the trunk due to a leaking seal (we don’t know if it’s ever been replaced). The interior is the one the auto was built with and shows some of its 64 years of use. The carburetor was rebuilt some time ago, but we don’t know what else it might need.
We’re told the seller is not the owner but a friend of the collector who is parting with the car. Said owner is thinning the herd and may not be familiar with how you sell automobiles on eBay. Out there somewhere on YouTube is a video of the Appia as part of a special feature and the seller can provide a link to that video upon request. This looks like a really cool car that you’re not likely to find duplicated at Cars & Coffee.
This car has been hanging about for a while.
https://bringatrailer.com/2016/07/13/one-of-477-mechanically-sorted-1960-lancia-appia-lusso-vignale/
Hopefully it finds a good home, but that tiny 1.1 motor, while charming, has about as much power as the sewing machine it resembles. I love Appias, but the small motor is better tolerated in sexier clothing like the aluminum-bodied GTE Zagato.
You just have to rev it! As with a lot of European cars of the time, it was quick enough to cope with European traffic. Not blindingly fast top end and not hugely torque-y, but fitted in nicely.
I’d include things like Imps and Minis in this.
It’s not “hanging around”, it’s pacing itself.
Interesting link, Michelle. Expert inspection back in 2016 suggests the car is much rustier than it looks. But it is a very rare car, don’t think I have seen this Micholetti variant before. So it should be saved….
I don’t really get post war/ pre Fiat Lancia (B20 apart). Have good friends who are Lancisti and I’ve had a couple of desiable Fulvias. Pundits talk about amazing engineering ( meaning over-complicated) and build qualty (which never stopped them rusting!) but seems obvious to me that the marque’s over-priced and under-powered cars failed to sell enough to avert bankruptcy, even in the boom years of Italy 1955-69.
See upcoming review of a Lancia Aurelia B24S…. I note most of what you say above in that article. Love Lancia, but gee. It’s like the French – “I know! Let’s reinvent this thing that everyone else does this other way to make it more obscure and maybe work less often!” … only a slight exaggeration.
Cute little thing, and it will always be special with so few made, but I’d have to agree with Michelle; getting out into modern traffic would be a lot to ask of that tiny engine.
One of the reports on BaT from a Lancia expert who inspected it is that it is rustier than it appears, and he wouldn’t touch it. That’s too bad because it’s rare, though most rare cars are that way because no one bought them new.
Engine size is not a big concern. My Citroen 2CV will hit 75 mph (at 5,000 ft altitude) and is fine on all but the fastest roads, though it does have the “big-block” 602cc engine.
That 70 mph is on a FLAT road with one’s foot glued to the floor :-)
And a tail wind!
I’d have liked an explanation on how that carburetor and a V4 work together.
It’s a narrow-angle V4 with only 10° between banks sharing a common cylinder head; the orientation of the separate rocker covers lends the appearance of a bank angle wider than it actually is.
Think of it as more like an inline-4, just with cylinder bores offset from the centerline in an alternating staggered formation, similar in concept to VW’s recent VR6 engines.
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lancia-appia-v4-cross-section.jpg