1937 Lancia Aprilia Pillar-less Saloon

• Original ownership until 1995
• Extensively restored by John Savage in 2002
• Prepared for historic rallying (but never used)
• Preserved in dry storage since purchase in 2005

This Lancia Aprilia saloon was ordered new from Abbott of London by one Rodney Wilkinson, a war hero who was awarded the Military Cross while fighting in Italy. Failing eyesight led to him parting with the car in 1995. The second owner put the Aprilia through a total rebuild with John Savage in 2002. Our vendor bought the car in 2005 and prepared it for historic rallying, although it has never been used in a rally. It should be noted the Lancia Aprilia is Mille Miglia eligible. The Aprilia has been kept in a dry garage ever since, retaining its current splendour.

An exhaustive list of the work carried out comes with the car. Suffice to say it is too long to list here. According to our vendor the Aprilia is now in beautiful running order, starting easily and performing in a lively manner. The car is finished in pale blue metallic, which suits it extremely well, the paintwork being of recent origin and therefore in lovely order except for one small dent. The interior is trimmed in medium blue leather, piped in pale blue, with dark grey carpets. The original seats are available, but currently it has Mazda MX-5 seats, installed for rallying.

According to the vendor, the Aprilia is a delight to drive, possessing light steering and an easy gearbox that changes gear silently, while the V4 engine's fruity Italian exhaust note is an added bonus. It easily keeps up with more modern traffic. Hydraulic brakes are fitted all round, making for excellent levels of retardation.

The bodywork is undeniably handsome, with a low bonnet line tapering away for excellent visibility, and a gracefully curving aerodynamic fastback rear. Ingress and egress is made simple by the pillar-less door arrangement, with the front doors opening conventionally and the rear doors being rear hinged. In the boot is the original suitcase that came with the car when new, together with another case containing tools that fits underneath the larger case.

These cars were far ahead of their time when first produced, boasting a lightweight monocoque body and a powerful-for-its-size V4 engine which provides startling performance for a car of this age. Indeed, a 1938 report in The Autocar stated that they managed to see a top speed of 80mph with easy 60mph cruising.