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$1.25 million Lancia Aurelia Spider is Looking For a New Owner

Say what you want about Italian sports cars, but you could never call them ugly or bland. Especially not one designed by one of the grandmasters of Italian carrozzerias, Battista 'Pinin' Farina.
This Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 million 9 photos
Photo: Peter Seabrook for RM Sotheby's
This Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 millionThis Italian beauty could be yours for "just" $1.25 million
The masterpiece in question is one of the 181 left-hand drive Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America roadsters built. It's being offered for sale through RM Sotheby's, for the princely sum of $1,250,000. It's a bit much, as prices for the model have dropped, even if this one comes with a rare, beautiful Fontana hardtop and a comprehensive history of work to maintain and restore various parts over the years. Sotheby's offered this same car at auction last year, but it failed to sell and it's now being offered for private sale.

Based on the fourth-series Aurelia B20 GT chassis but with a wheelbase shorter by 8-inch (203 mm) and a 2.5 liter, 110 hp V6 engine, the B24 Spider was in production during 1954 and 1955 only. This 1955 model, carrying chassis number B24S-1044, was brought into the U.S. through the famous New York importer Max Hoffman, known for popularizing many European roadsters among American buyers.

It changed hands at least two times by 1963, and since then it's had five owners, one of which was Turin dealer and collector Luciano Bertolero.

Under Bertolero's orders and in his own workshop, the Aurelia B24S Spider America was restored, sometime in the mid-90s. At that time it was repainted in its current Azzurro (light blue) color - which is an authentic 50s Lancia color - and the interior was reupholstered in dark blue leather. When originally sold, the car had a Grigio (pale grey) exterior, with a red leather interior.

In 2001, the car was fitted with Borrani wire wheels and a Nardi twin-carburetor, and in 2005 it was on display at Pebble Beach. After 2009 it's undergone major work by expert Tony Nicosia on brakes, transmission, and electrical system. Apparently, no major work has ever been done on the engine, which is impressive.
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