Aurelia B24 Spider America

- One of only 59 right-hand drive examples built from only 240 total B24 Spider Americas

- Exceedingly rare European market example with 240 kph speedometer

- Retains its original numbers-matching engine

- Features chrome Borrani wire wheels, Nardi wood-trimmed steering wheel, and a very rare body-color Carrozzeria Fontana hardtop

- Fully restored by noted Lancia Specialist Peter Bazille at B.F. Touring Garage in Germany between 2008 and 2013

- Held by just two long term collectors since 1983, in current ownership for 15 years

- Mille Miglia eligible

- Offered with restored original seats, spare, and jack

Lancia emerged from WWII determined to pick up right where they had left off, creating sophisticated and technically innovative road cars. Vittorio Jano, one of the most brilliant engineering minds in Grand Prix racing, had been persuaded to fill the sizable hole left by Lancia founder Vincenzo Lancia’s death in 1937 and had quietly continued his work during the occupation designing what would become the world’s first production V6 engine. The jewel-like, all-aluminum pushrod V6 first appeared at the 1950 Turin Motor Show as the centerpiece of the audacious Lancia Aurelia. Together with Gianni Lancia and Francesco de Virgilio, Jano had created a technical tour de force with the Aurelia, showcasing numerous innovations including unitary chassis construction, Lancia’s “sliding pillar” independent front suspension, a rear-mounted transaxle, inboard brakes, and utilizing radial tires.

The Aurelia B10 sedan was succeeded later that year by the stylish Pinin Farina-designed B20 GT coupe, which is now widely credited with being the first of a post-war generation of elegant Gran Turismos. The remarkably advanced Aurelia was naturally suited to competition, with slightly modified versions of the B20 GT taking a class win in the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans and claiming the first three places in the Targa Florio the following year. Owing to Lancia’s continued commitment to excellence, the Aurelia was continually developed in progressively more refined batches or “series,” gaining larger engines, a de Dion tube rear suspension, and left-hand drive by the fourth iteration. An open-topped variant of the Aurelia, the B24 Spider America, was introduced in 1954 alongside the fourth-series B20 GT to overwhelming acclaim.

Sharing its mechanical underpinnings and shortened wheelbase with the race-proven B20 GT, the Spider’s effortlessly beautiful coachwork is held as one of Pinin Farina’s finest post-war masterpieces. Its equal parts athletic and soft, flowing proportions were adorned with delicate split front and rear bumperettes, a hood scoop, a panoramic windscreen, and a jet-fighter-like canopy courtesy of Carrozzeria Fontana. As its name suggests, the Spider America was targeted squarely at the prosperous American market, and much like Max Hoffman’s vision for the Porsche 356 Speedster, interior equipment was spartan. A wood-trimmed steering wheel framed a large speedometer flanked by two smaller Veglia gauges, side and vent windows were absent, and a difficult-to-use soft top was included purely for weather protection. These concessions to luxury were addressed in the series-production B24 Convertible of 1956-1958, making the just 240 Spider America’s produced between 1954-1955 the rarest and purest iterations of the open-topped Aurelia.

This particular Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider America, chassis number 1028 is one of only 59 examples completed from the factory in right-hand drive configuration. According to its Lancia Certificate of Origin on file, the car was completed during the final year of production on 6 June 1955, originally finished in Grigio with a Pelle Chiara interior. Although its earliest ownership history remains undocumented, records place the Lancia in France by the early 1980s before being exported to Italy in October 1982. Shortly thereafter, the then owner, Giancarlo Cappa of Inzago, Italy, commissioned Lancia specialists KCA Restorations in Milan to conduct a complete restoration of the Spider. In October 1983, the car passed to long-term owner Giancarlo Ghioldi of Appiano Gentile, Italy, who enjoyed the freshly restored Lancia for 23 years before selling it in December 2006 to GTO Motors Srl., in Saronno, Italy. The Spider subsequently passed to Belgian dealer Marreyt Classic Cars where the consignor purchased it in February 2007 – only its third private owner in the last 50 years.

In more recent times, chassis number 1028 was treated to a nut-and-bolt restoration completed in 2013 by noted Lancia specialist Peter Bazille of B.F. Touring Garage in Troisdorf, Germany, including a complete rebuild of its numbers-matching 2451 cc V6 engine. Bazille began by taking the steel coachwork and exceedingly rare Carrozzeria Fontana hardtop down to bare metal and renewing them in matching Azzuro (light blue) paintwork, as well as professionally replating the chrome bumpers and brightwork. The interior, now fitted with a bucket driver’s seat to accommodate taller drivers, is trimmed in dark blue leather and features new carpets, refinished Veglia gauges, and a highly desirable wood-trimmed Nardi steering wheel. Sporting Borrani wire wheels give the Spider a “Nardi package” appearance and nicely complement its wonderful overall presentation. In May 2022, chassis 1028 was subject to an exacting inspection and condition report conducted by appraiser Klaus Kukuk of Ingenieurbüro Kukuk in Overath, Germany. The exhaustive 58-page report, on file and available for review upon request, grades the current overall condition of the Lancia to be 1.5 on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being original, as-new condition.

This elegant Aurelia B24 Spider America remains in superb, expertly-restored condition, ready to be driven and experienced by its next custodian on any number of exclusive tours including the Mille Miglia. Accompanied by its restored spare, jack, and original seats, chassis number 1028 presents a rare opportunity to acquire an exceptionally-prepared example of a tremendously rare Lancia.

We offer this vehicle for our partner company Collectors Garage from Michigan, USA. Collectors Garage is a subsidiary of the Broad Arrow Group.

The car can be viewed by appointment at any time at our premises in 33415 Verl. A lifting platform is of course available for this purpose.

Please contact us if you are interested in further information.

We prepare our descriptions and advertisements very conscientiously and carefully. Nevertheless, we ask for your understanding that the details given here are non-binding descriptions which do not represent guaranteed properties. We are not liable for errors, input errors and data transmission errors and reserve the right to make changes and prior sale.

In this case, the sale is carried out on behalf of the customer without display of the sales tax and without warranty.