This Lancia Fulvia Zagato has been in the seller’s family for over 20 years and wears a distinctive “Giallo” paint job that was redone about six years ago. The Fulvia Zagato is a limited production model with an impressive competition pedigree owing to the Fulvia’s success on the international rally stage. The Zagato-bodied car was limited to 7,000 units and offered in a few different engine and body configurations. The seller’s car appears to be in very good condition assuming there’s no rust and the mechanical health checks out. It’s listed here on eBay with bids to $10,300 and the reserve unmet.
While some may find the proportions odd or the bodywork not particularly attractive, that’s not really the point of a car like this. Sure, we hear the words “Zagato” and assume that styling was a focal point, but at this point in the company’s history, Lancia was far more concerned with the company’s competition track record. The Fulvia Zagato was offered with three engine displacements starting with an early 1.2 and then to the 1.3 found in this car; the later 1600cc engine was the one to have with a healthy 115 b.h.p. on tap. Still, I wouldn’t count that as a “ding” against this car, as its low curb weight should make it feel plenty tossable. The Zagato is in Champlain, New York, but still wears California plates.
I suspect the seller inherited the car or otherwise took ownership when a family member passed away. Hopefully, this means the Zagato resided on the west coast for most of its life before moving to snow-slammed upstate New York. If you can’t get behind the outside looks of a Lancia, you will likely find the interior appealing, as this driver-focused cockpit was as good as it got for an enthusiast car in the 1960s and 70s. The photos show what appear to be bucket seats in good condition overall and a dash that looks to be original. The black carpets look quite nice as well.
The Zagato’s rarity makes it an unusual find on a site like eBay; I more often associate these with the major auction circuits like Barrett-Jackson or Mecum. The seller may simply be the last caretaker who has less of an emotional connection to the car than a parent or grandparent did; seeing the details in the engine bay with the components painted to presumably match the exterior suggests someone was enjoying this Lancia’s cheerful demeanor owing to its orange paint job. The current bid price is well under what one of these should sell for, especially if the condition is as good in person as it appears to be in pictures.
A Lancia Zagato is one of my bucket list cars. I also like the Fulvia as well. The narrow angle V4 was designed and produced well before VW created the VR6. Funny how the merits of the Lancia was forgotten. Beautiful design with the Zagato bodywork without any thought to preventing corrosion. Even coming from a dry climate one needs to comb over these very carefully to make sure rust is not terminal.
Hey Alphasud
I’ve got a Zagato Special 1981 sub 18k miles with original paint is that on your Bucket?
James
This is a good engine, gives good power and is line with the Lancia tradition of narrow V engives which starts back in the 1920s Lambda.
I think there are reasons why no-one copied Lancia until the short-lived VW VR6 adventure ( nice engine but not a commercial success). They are expensive to produce and other than space saving don´t give huge benefit.
When you look under the hood of a Fullvia, there´s plenty of sppace, but everything is placed at funny angles. Cooling is too marginal and maintenance has to be done by people who get it. In comparison, I´ll take an Alfasud any day…and someone sold a beautifully engineered Subaru-powered Fulvia coupé on BaT a few weeks ago which looked a lot less thrown together under the hood than the factory car! Just my opinion…but based on compare and contrast, also paying big money for small jobs!
> short-lived VW VR6 adventure (nice engine but not a commercial success).
VW first introduced their VR6 in 1991 and continue producing it today, with numerous variants, evolutions and derivatives along the way, including a VR5 variant (’97-06) as well as “W engines” comprising two banks of VR cylinders, such as their short-lived W8 (’01-04), current Bentley W12s (’01-present), and the mighty Bugatti twin-turbo W16 (’05-present).
Nice series by Harry Metcalfe on the restoration of his car.
https://youtu.be/82Bw9_QPCZ8
PS:
Never understood “been in the family 20 years” but with brand new CA plates and now in NY state being sold by a Canadian dealer who’s owned it for 4 years?
The Metcalfe video series is a tragedy in about 12 parts of separating a fool from his money.
As advertised, this is a strange background, possibly not a real sale? Someone on the ground could grab a bargainb if not….
Harry’s car is the actual car that he saw as a boy. It was the car that started his car obsession, so it’s much more than just a car to him.
Giallo is yellow in Italian. It also refers to macabre books and movies (sort of like yellow journalism in the US). Neither apply to this finish.
The seller spent at least 30 seconds taking those fantastic photos. Possibly 35. What a pro!
Definitely not a 1966. It is a second series body. 1971 or 72. Color is probably rosso corsa, not yellow. These are super fun cars . Had on as a daily driver
From NY, scary thought.
big family?
BTW , colour is listed as orange in the ad; or arancia if you prefer –
@Geoff is correct on both colour and tyhe fact that this is a 72 model. A 1966 would be worth double. By the 1972 S2, the Zagato has lost its better Zagato features (side opening bonnet, hatch for spare wheel at rear etc) but gains a 5 speed box and better interior, plus a bit more power (95bhp?). The later bodies lose charm but drive better.
I had a nice Fulvia Zagato a few years ago and had to research into it deeply. I also had a Fulvia 1600HF before that car. I would not pay the 50% or more premium for the bigger engine because it is still not a quick car. The Special feeling of telling people “It´s Zagato” is worth paying for.
Giallo? Have I gone color blind or does the author not know what that word means?