Carrozzeria Ugo Zagato & Co was founded in 1919 with an aim to combine Ugo Zagato’s knowledge of sophisticated and lightweight construction techniques in the aeronautical sector with automobile designs. From those early beginnings, Ugo created a family-owned business that worked with just about every top auto manufacturer and was involved in everything from race cars to specialized limited-run road cars.
The company has since expanded into other sectors too and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To honor this company’s many beautiful designs over the decades, renowned restoration specialists Thornley Kelham has just revealed three recently restored Lancia Flaminia Zagatos.
Only 526 Flaminia Zagatos were built between 1959 and 1967 and these rare double-bubble roofed sports cars are considered to be one of the company’s most stunning designs. Underneath that eye-catching bodywork the Flaminias were cutting-edge for their time, with fully independent suspension setups, strong V6 engines and all-round disc brakes on later models; and they drove as well as they looked. The Cotswolds-based restoration specialists commissioned 3D Engineers to scan a Zagato body, from which they could construct a buck to fabricate and rebuild the aluminum panels for the three cars as well as any future restorations.
In total there were three generations of Zagato-bodied Flaminias over the years, each with subtle changes and upgrades. Two of the restored cars here are the second-generation models, which featured triple-carbs that gave the 2.5-liter V6 140hp (up from the 119hp of the earlier cars —152 of these cars were produced in total. The third car is an even rarer Flaminia Sport 3C, one of only 33 built. It features a larger 150hp 2.8-liter version of Lancia’s V6, and this particular example is fitted with the covered headlights that were originally only found on the first-gen cars. These three stunning vehicles are testament to the enduring allure of Zagato-bodied sports cars and a rather fitting tribute to the coachbuilder’s centenary.
All images copyright of Ashley Border/Lightflow and Thornley Kelham
