Quentin on the Fulvia

It’s not hard to find long-ownership, minimal-mileage Fulvia coupés for less than £10k. An Italian private seller is offering a two-owner 25,000-miler ’75 for just £8990 and a chap in Solihull has a ’74 with 60k that he’s owned for 35 years for £8750. For something with such watchlike precision, sharp lines and alloy panels they feel seriously undervalued. That’s the Beta effect – all those Series 1 Beta saloons in the Seventies with terminally rusty subframes earned the Lancia brand a reputation it has never shaken off. But when it comes to the Fulvia coupé it’s undeserved, because they corrode no worse than many contemporary Jaguars and BMWS. The raspy V4 is a gem that sparkles the car along and the sweet steering, front-wheel-drive grip and Italianate interior bring charm to every journey. Made from 1965-77, the most usable examples are the post-seventies 1.3s. The later Series 2 models have five-speed boxes and plusher cabins, but the last cars suffered from the Fiat influence (they changed the alloy doors, bonnet and boot lid to steel in 1971) with cheaper build. The earliest Sixties Series 1 coupés are our pick. Fulvia coupés are much more desirable than their low prices suggest.