LANCIA AURELIA B20 GT

Year of manufacture 1953 Recorded mileage 5270km

Asking price £185,000 Vendor Sports Purpose, Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire; 07970 404818; www.sports-purpose.com

WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £3200 Max power 118bhp Max torque 134lb ft

0-60mph 11.4 secs Top speed 115mph Mpg 23

This third-series Aurelia GT, one of the last of 720 to be produced, was imported into the UK in January of 1963. It was bought in the late 2000s as a project, showing a 1975 tax disc – presumably when it was last on the road. The Aurelia was restored more recently by Lancia specialist Thornley Kelham, including new floorpans, and remains excellent in all respects. The body is straight, with fine panel and door fits, and the Amaranto paint is even and good. The original bumpers have been replated, a set of genuine hubcaps sourced for the cream wheels, and the super Carello headlights have been upgraded with H4 bulbs. The rest of the hard-to-source lights are all undamaged. The tyres are newish, correct specification and size Michelin Xs, their 2016 dates giving a clue as to when it went back on the road.

The owner specified a standard interior, but kept the Nardi floor shift that was already fitted – a common conversion from the usual column change. The grey wool-trimmed seats show only slight signs of use. They are fitted with five-point SCHROTH harnesses dated to 2021, and the original large cream plastic steering wheel remains, with no cracks. The dashboard, instruments and headlining are all perfect and the rubber floor mats are new. If one must nitpick, there are small cracks in the handbrake handle, but they are mostly unnoticeable, hidden under the dash.

The Francesco De Virgilio-designed 2.5-litre V6 motor is tidy in factory finishes and with no leaks, running an electric fan and Facet electric fuel pump. The coolant is full and blue-tinged, and the oil is clean and near the maximum mark. It starts on the button, drives really well and goes well, too, with good brakes that pull up straight with only minimal pulsing through the pedal. The oil pressure shows full deflection on the gauge when at revs, warm, and in the ‘normal’ zone at tickover. The temperature gauge is in the glovebox, reading 70ºc, beside which there’s an auxiliary lead for an ipod or similar device to the radio, plus there’s a modern 12V power socket.