There once was a time when Lancia built beautiful, extravagant cars, which were technologically advanced, well-engineered and of superior build quality, and they bore fine-sounding names… Tempi passati. But here’s a survivor from this great era, a 1961 model Lancia Flaminia 2500 Coupé Pininfarina, featuring the attractive bodywork that made this variant the most popular of all Flaminia styles.
The delectable V6 engine, a Lancia specialty, starts up and runs very smooth, it unfortunately also leaks coolant and oil, so a technical overhaul will be required. It produces 88 kW (119 hp) of power and is coupled to the 4-speed manual transaxle.
On the inside, there’s a light brown leather interior with a suitable degree of patina. In combination with bicolour (brown/black) door panels and a black dashboard with faux wood accents, this creates a real sense of occasion every time you make yourself comfortable behind the wheel. The grey paint has notable tinges of black. The boot looks dry, the light beige headliner in good shape.
The car was registered in Switzerland as a historic vehicle and had its last MFK (the swiss MOT equivalent) in 09/2013, all taxes are paid.
For a duration of 13 years, the Flaminia marked the upper end of Italian carmaker Lancia’s product line. Basically, three body styles were available, but only one of them lasted for the entire production span, and that was the sedan, or Berlina, which is the customary Italian name. The Flaminia was based on a technically rather elaborate concept with transaxle layout and DeDion rear axle, resulting in sales price which put these cars out of reach for the average customer.
In 1959, two different coupé variants were added to the lineup: The Pininfarina-styled Flaminia Coupé, featuring a slightly shortened wheelbase which allowed for a 2+2 seater layout, and the Touring-styled Flaminia GT, which came on an even shorter wheelbase and had only room for two people. In a rare case of automotive history, the Pininfarina coupé outsold the sedan from which it was derived, with 5,236 units built, compared to 3,943 Berlina. The GT was even fewer in numbers with only 2,866 cars built, and that includes the convertible variant that was also available until 1964. All Flaminia featured V6 engines with either 2.5 or 2.8 litres of capacity.
Other, even rarer Flaminia derivatives include the Zagato-built Sport and Super Sport, as well as the “Presidenziale”, a stretched limousine ordered by the government as state carriage.
