MEET THE OWNER – IAN MORGAN AND HIS LANCIA FLAMINIA SUPERLEGGERA CONVERTIBLE

Some cars evoke a sense of awe – and a silver Lancia Flaminia Superleggera Convertible with aluminium coachwork by Touring of Milan falls into this exclusive category. Fifty-one years ago, this would have been the automotive embodiment of La Dolce Vita, one that would have been equally at home in Monte Carlo or parked outside The St. Regis hotel in Rome. Somewhat inevitably, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni were Flaminia owners.

Lancia introduced the original Flaminia Berlina in March of 1957 as the heir to the Aurelia saloon. By 1959 it was followed by the short-wheelbase GT and the Convertible in 1960. Five years later, Touring had created 2,750 conveyances for the jet-set, only 21 of which were RHD. The highly affluent buyer could also opt for a Pininfarina-bodied coupe, which Autocar tested in the 2.8-litre guise (early models had a 2.5-litre V6) in 1965. They concluded:

As a prestige vehicle, the Lancia Flaminia is certainly a handsome and fast means of transport. Its price in Britain is high, but it retains that certain air of quality that only a firm like Lancia can manage to put into their cars.

At £3,388 10s 5d, the cost of a Flaminia was indeed high; a Jaguar E-Type was £1,000 less, and for the same amount, you could buy five Minis and still have money for a five-star holiday. Ian’s 1961 example is believed to be one of the first to leave the factory - “This is identified by the headlamps and side repeaters also used on the Maserati GT cars built by them at the same time.”

The Flaminia was exported to California, where it remained until 1998, when its third owner, an Italian expatriate, despatched back to Italy for a full restoration. The process lasted for two years, after which a British enthusiast purchased the Lancia; in December of 2004, it gained a UK registration. Ian became its fifth custodian in the spring of 2019. He remarks, “We’ve had a number of Lancias over the years and always wanted a Flaminia, but they had just gotten a bit too expensive. About 3-4 years ago, the prices softened a bit which made it more viable”.

1970 marked the demise of the Flaminia, shortly after Fiat acquired Lancia. Over the past thirteen years, the range has carved a distinct niche with motorists who regarded the Alfa Romeo 2600 as slightly nouveau and the Fiat 2300 Berlina as faintly suburban. Any devotee of the shield badge would tell you that the Flaminia was infinitely superior to the Mercedes-Benz 300SE ‘Fintail’ or the Citroën DS – albeit slightly less well known.

As for the Morgan Flaminia, it is soon to find another custodian, “I had a Flavia Vignale as well, but two 1960’s Lancia’s in the garage with two Morgan Aero 8s didn’t make sense!”. And the new owner will be able to take the wheel of one of the finest cars from one of Europe’s oldest manufacturers, In addition to owning a car that really should have featured in the lyrics to Peter Sarstedt’s Where Do You Go To My Lovely…

With Thanks To – Ian Morgan