1965 Lancia Flavia Sport Coupé

• One of only 539 1.8-litre Zagato Sports built
• Delivered new in Italy
• Single family ownership until 2009
• Professionally restored in the 2010s
• Present ownership since 2017
• Mint condition

Launched in 1961, the Flavia saloon maintained Lancia's enviable reputation for advanced and innovative automotive engineering. Designed by Antonio Fessia and inspired by his Cemsa prototype of 1947, the Flavia was Italy's first series-production car to employ front-wheel drive. Carried well forward of the front wheels, the engine was a 1,488cc, overhead-valve, horizontally-opposed four; suspension was independent at the front and by beam axle at the rear, and there were dual-circuit, servo-assisted disc brakes all round. In 1962 the saloon was joined by a shorter-wheelbase Pininfarina-styled notch-back coupé, the latter providing the basis for a convertible by Vignale and the aluminium-bodied Zagato Sport coupé. The following year the Flavia engine was enlarged to 1.8 litres, and as installed in the Zagato Sport produced 105bhp, good enough for a top speed of 116mph.

This example of the rarest and most desirable Flavia (just 539 1.8-litre Zagato Sports were produced between 1963 and 1966) was delivered new in Rimini to the 25-year-old Teodoro Perazzini and remained in the same family's ownership until 2009 (the original libretto records just two owners). In the early 2010s the Flavia was extensively restored by a Lancia specialist and on completion was sold to an Italian collector and Lancia aficionado, who appreciated the restoration's exceptional quality and wanted an example that did not require any work.

When purchased by our vendor from a French auction in November 2017, the car was described as 'sparingly used' and in 'beautiful condition today'. UK import and registration formalities were completed by CARS for the vendor. Serviced by Lancia specialists Thornley Kelham, and professionally stored most of the time, this rare sporting Lancia is presented in mint condition, ready to delight the fortunate next owner. Accompanying paperwork consists of Thornley Kelham's Servicing and Maintenance Record Book; a copy of the 2017 auction catalogue invoice; a V5C Registration Certificate; and the aforementioned original libretto.