Rare Rides: An Incredibly Rare 1965 Lancia Flaminia Super Sport Zagato

By my count, Rare Rides has featured exactly four Lancias in the past. Ranging in scope from two-doors to four-doors, they all contained Italian passion and were designed with a ruler. Today’s coupe bucks the trend: It’s an elegant and curvaceous Flaminia, and more specifically, a very desirable Super Sport Zagato.

Remember when Lancia was a full-line automaker; an independent brand which competed with the likes of Alfa Romeo and Fiat for European (and some North American) car customers? Nor do I, but today’s Flaminia hails from just such an era. During its production, Lancia had eight models on offer, as well as a rally car toward the end of the model’s run.

Speaking of model runs, the Flaminia was a long-lived model. Introduced in 1957 to take over for the very dated looking Aurelia, the Flaminia was offered through 1970. Flaminia ushered in modern styling and new levels of luxury for Lancia customers (and some visitors to Italy, like Queen Elizabeth). But upon its cancellation there would never be another large luxury car from the Lancia brand. The furthest upmarket Lancia reached after 1970 were executive-class cars like the 2000 and Gamma. The latter of those two found the brand already under the control of Fiat, which is where it resides today.

Underneath, the Flaminia was a rework of the old Aurelia chassis with an entirely new body. The front suspension was updated to a double wishbone setup, with an anti-roll bar added for good measure. At the rear, the De Dion tube suspension was kept in place. Only the base sedan version had drum brakes and offered discs optionally, while all other versions used discs at all corners.

Pulling out all the stops for its flagship car, Lancia offered the Flaminia in five body styles. The most basic and affordable version was the sedan (Berlina), which was designed by Pininfarina. There were three different coupes on offer, designed and built by Pininfarina, Zagato, and Carrozzeria Touring. Touring was also drafted to build the convertible. The most exclusive and sixth body style was the presidential landaulet sedan, another Pininfarina creation. But those were not available to consumers.

Powering all Flaminias were two Lancia V6 engines, in either 2.5-liter or 2.8-liter displacement. After 1963 the 2.5 was phased out in favor of the larger engine. While the 2.5 managed 140 horses in its final (triple carb) form, the 2.8 upped that figure to 152. Transmissions on offer included a four-speed manual or semi-automatic manual with automatic clutch called Saxomat. The Saxomat transmission had an interesting history through the Fifties and Sixties, and was implemented by many European manufacturers. Each company branded it with their own name to distance it from its use at other brands. The last cars to use the system appeared in the Nineties. Remember Saab Sensonic?

Zagato’s Flaminia offerings included the Sport and Super Sport. Unlike some of the other coupes, their version had only two seats. Utilizing a shorter wheelbase (14 inches shorter than the sedan), it had an aluminum body and was more curvaceous than other Flaminia coupes. The Sport existed until 1964, when the Super Sport took over. The name change signified usage of the larger 2.8-liter engine. The Super Sport was discontinued after 1967 as the Flaminia neared end of production. In total, 150 of 593 Zagato coupes were Super Sport versions.

Today’s 1965 Super Sport is in beautiful condition, residing in Switzerland. In silver over tan hides, it’s priced upon request.

[Images: seller]