The Family Car That Preceded Lancia's Rally Domination

For a mid-range car of yesteryear, the Lancia Fulvia successfully masqueraded as an out-and-out performance vehicle. It won the nine-rally International Championship for Manufacturers in 1972, for starters.

Fulvia models were offered in either Berlina, Coupé or Sport chassis, with the Coupé variant ranking among the most sought after collector cars on the planet. It's why we were stopped dead in our tracks upon stumbling across this original 1967 Fulvia Series 1 Coupé HF, currently for sale on eBay.

The Southern California-based seller is looking to move the Lancia on to new owners not because of flaws or condition, but rather so they can concentrate on a Ferrari project car.

This car, VIN: 818140001334, boasts a tuned engine capable of 88-horsepower, a manual gearbox, and a host of weight-saving features worthy of its rally-associated ‘HF’ name. The hood, doors and trunk lid are made of aluminium, the rear window employs Plexiglass, and the interior trades luxury for improved weight loss.

Another test of the ‘HF’ name was how the Fulvia drove, and according to the seller, this one not only retains its original Rally HF equipment, but also “runs and drives great, having only changed hands between collectors. It drivers like a time capsule car".

Bare steel wheels were another feature where weight-saving was in the mind of the designers, and this sale includes a spare set. The examples in the pictures provided with the eBay ad look a little old, and the seller admits “the body and paint are showing their age with nicks and scratches”.

That doesn’t seem to be a turn-off to people who have admired this car up close though, as it’s won at the Concorso Italiano in Monterrey, and was recently given some appreciation by Jay Leno at a Californian auto show.

The 52-year-old car, currently finished in a light shade of maroon with a central blue-and-yellow stripe (the colours of Torino Team HF), has covered 59,000 miles since new, an impressive amount on the small (matching numbers) 1.2-liter V4 engine the car contains.

Less than 500 HF versions of the Fulvia were made, meaning it may be a relatively long time before you see one for sale again, and with this one on a 'Buy it Now’ option of $35,000 (£27,228, €31,056), even longer before you find as good a deal as this.