The Lancia Aprilia Barchetta that seduced America
Born in Turin and Roman by adoption, this one-off whose construction finished in 1946, returned home after a life in the United States
Nervous, quick, low. This splendid Aprilia on a 1939 Fiat 1100 chassis (# 269345) is not only dazzlingly beautiful but, says its young owner, it also drives “like a go-kart”. “It’s very fast and fun,” he continues; you reach 140-160 km per hour of maximum speed with gentle driving: “The steering is soft and the Aprilia gearbox feels like butter“. Yes, the mechanics of the Aprilia: developed in 1936, it represents one of the most revolutionary chapters in the history of the automobile. If we exclude the telescopic front suspension integrated into the steering pin, which the company patented in 1922, all the parts of Vincenzo Lancia’s famous masterpiece are designed from scratch and highly innovative.
The touch of Petrarca. In this example it was a professional preparer who expanded the engine. “During the restoration stages we realized that it had been brought from 1350cc to 1500cc but everything remained shrouded in an aura of doubt until we had the good chance to meet the descendants of Mario Faina, who bodied the car and completed it in 1946. His heirs showed us photos of how the Aprilia was at the time and confirmed the work of the preparer Patriarca, a neighbor of Faina’s shop in Rome”, explains the owner. “The specialist, who prepares several cars for the original Mille Miglia of speed, also worked on the distribution and the combustion chamber, and the pistons are also knobbly”.
Sports vocation. The Aprilia is a model that achieved good results in the competitions of the time in Italy: in addition to the accuracy of the finishes and driving comfort, it did not lack excellent road holding. A sporting vocation, hers, which saw it overall winner with Piero Taruffi at the first edition of the Stella Alpina, in 1947, and third the following year with Giannino Marzotto. And already in 1938 the Lancia Aprilia Sport Zagato of Luigi Villoresi and Eugenio Minetti had finished second in the tenth Targa Abruzzo. An Aprilia also came second in the first Cappa Toscana (1949), as well as in the fourth Rally del Sestriere in 1953. Produced until 1949, this model caused a sensation, both as a production sedan – also studied in the wind tunnel – , both in the various “packages” of chassis and sheet metal supplied to the body builders of the time (some also used for military vehicles): in total over 27 thousand units were sold, a considerable volume for an elite car, built more than seventy ‘Years ago.
Barn find! Yet someone had not recognized it. Those who had this model on their hands – probably an heir or a friend of the former owner – thought it was a Lancia Ardea. It was the father of the current caretaker, an expert Lancia enthusiast and collector, who recognized the mechanics of the Aprilia in the announcement found on the internet a few years ago. The car was in the United States. How it got there is not known: legend has it that it was an American soldier who took it away after seeing it outside Mario Faina’s workshop while the paint was drying. But it’s just a rumor, in fact nothing is known about how it ended up in America. Much easier, however, to trace his return ticket to his homeland. “An English enthusiast was also interested in the car, but my father and I, through an acquaintance we have in the States, immediately left a deposit, which in those parts is worth more than a pact of blood”, says the owner. “And so, five years ago, the car from California arrived in Rotterdam and from there to our house”. The previous owner is thought to have kept it until he passed away, but it is only an hypothesis: “The Aprilia was found abandoned in a garage and whoever placed the announcement was not a connoisseur of cars,” he concludes.
Conservative restoration. Mechanics and chassis have been completely overhauled, since the car had been stuck for many years. For the rest, little was done to put it back on the road: “When we bought it, it was in a beautiful state of preservation. The frame has only been cleaned with rust inhibitor and the sheets have not been touched, as can be seen from the dents that are still present”, says the current custodian. Who in 2020 brought the Aprilia to its Mille Miglia debut as its first ever participation in a race. And the color? “Under the aluminum paint primer the current one came out, with which we have redone the paint”. A dark, intense red that couldn’t better enhance the generous and seductive shapes of the bodywork.
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