This 1977 Lancia Scorpion came to the seller in Georgia after many years residing in Montana, not a place you’d associate with an oddball Italian like this. While it does have some cosmetic issues, it is claimed to have a solid structure and have minimal needs related to the car’s top and glass. Find it here on eBay with bids over $1K and no reserve, and located in/near Atlanta.
The Scorpion has always been on my radar thanks to its appearance in my second-favorite Love Bug film, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. The Lancia in that movie was equipped with full racing regalia and a personality all of its own, along with a horn I’ve always wanted to replicate in one of my own project cars. This Scorpion has paint issues similar to those of my Mercedes 190E Cosworth, with flaking paint on the rear quarter leading to surface rust underneath.
The seller notes the car runs and drives, and the manual transmission shifts well through the gears. The seats are a bit tired but the door panels and dash look serviceable. Some of the cosmetic issues are likely due to the Lancia missing its back glass panel and – if I’m reading the description correctly – needing a new canvas sliding roof and straps. The steering column also needs replacing due to a broken ignition, and a spare is included.
The mid-engined Lancia certainly always had the look of a sports car with its drivetrain layout, but I don’t think the Scorpion ever made major noise on the domestic sports car scene. Today, they remain somewhat unloved but still very cheap to buy, and represent potentially good value thanks to a loyal network of owners and (for the most part) cheap parts. Would you take a chance on this Scorpion, especially if bidding stays cheap?
My brother just got married and I was picked up at the airport in a similar Lancia by his new spouse, which looked amazingly futuristic to me. I had never met her, she spoke English with a heavy accent and she drove like a crazed Italian (she is Italian). She was pulled over on the Interstate (speeding) and when the officer asked for her license, she said: “You guys need to get your act together, last week you took my license and now you want me to show it to you.”
That’s too funny!, did the cop laugh?, I would have.
Time out, fast forward a few years…can anyone say Fiero? Maybe GM/Pontiac hired a Lancia engineer to pen the Fiero?
I bought one of my many X1/9’s from a guy that had one of these. He said he was selling the X1/9 to finish his Lancia project. Got to his house, and he was putting a Maserati Biturbo engine in one of these. He almost had it finished – I’m sure that it was an amazing ride when he was completed. Told him to give me a call when he was ready to part with it hahaha.
Wish I had the money to turn this into an 037 rally car look alike. Cheap man’s Stratos.
Didn’t Chevy Chase drive one of these in “Modern Problems”?