The Lancia Aurelia mystery

• 
• 

Sebastien Simons contacted us with an intriguing photograph attached to his message. His question is simple: what's the car? To be a bit more precise we quote his exact message: "I found this picture in a cd with Lancia Aurelia documentation. The radiator grille, although very short, seems to be Lancia. But the car seems too big to be an Aprilia. However, I have never seen a body like this on an Aurelia. So what is it? An unknown Aurelia? A rebodied Astura? Or something completely different?" It's a good question. We would not want to rule out the Aurelia designation, though.

When the succesful B20 Coupe became a bit too ordinary for the grandest of tourists, the answer lay, of course, in special coachbuilding. Lancia offered rolling chassis’ under the B52 and B53 name to allow the various coachbuilders to experiment. These chassis' all had an even longer wheelbase then the B10 saloons. With 2910 millimetres they would have suited presidential limousine coachwork, but most were turned into glamorous coupés and convertibles and commissioned through carrozzeria’s in Italy and Switzerland: Bertone, Ghia, Pininfarina, Vignale, Michelotti, Worblaufen and Beutler to be precise. This one, however, is not in our books either. But we're sure some of you will recognize it!

UPDATE: And you did! Steve Bousfield had all sorts of ideas but it wasn't until he contacted master mystery motor man 'Paul Jaray' who recognized it immediately as a Lancia after all. Steve: "He posts that it is a 1948 Lancia Aprilia by Boneschi and is known as the Pin Up Cab. He also has a photo of a slightly different variant of the car."

Make a comment, ask a question, give your opinion, share additional information or start a discussion by filling in the fields below.