90 hp at 6,000 rpm, 1,500 cc Lancia Aprilia four-cylinder engine, aluminium cylinder head, single carburettor, dual ignition, synchromesh four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with transverse leaf spring, live rear axle with concentric coil springs and shock absorbers. Wheelbase: 2,450 mm

• A fascinating and highly successful early post-war racing special

• Lancia Aprilia engine, special alloy cylinder head

• Sophisticated and purposeful design, lightweight chassis and body

Luigi Pagani was the workshop foreman at the Minetti Lancia dealership in Milan. Since the late 1930s, most of the Lancia Aprilia racing cars were fitted with engines developed by him, as he was rightly considered the best Lancia specialist tuner of his time. Pagani even patented a special aluminium cylinder head with two intake ducts on both sides, and all of the Lancia Aprilia Scuderia Ambrosiana cars were fitted with this special item.

Following WWII, the Lancia dealerships turned to Pagani for competition Barchettas, bodied by Riva di Merate and fitted with twin-carburetted racing engines. These cars had good racing success and took home major victories.

Sr. Pagani himself built this example offered here, chassis PS147, and he built the frame, made by two box-section side members of rectangular-section steel and connected by four beams. The engine, as was his speciality, was derived from the Lancia Aprilia 1,500-cc unit, equipped with an alloy cylinder head, a single carburettor and a dual ignition system. The four-speed synchronised gearbox was in unit with the engine. The front suspension was independent with a transverse-leaf top, while the live rear axle was derived from the Fiat 1100 and initially anchored with two reaction struts and suspended by two concentric coil springs with shock absorbers. The declared power output was 90 hp at 6,000 rpm. With the chassis weighing just 390 kg and a relatively short 96.5-inch (2,450-mm) wheelbase, the car offered excellent performance.

Pagani built two cars in two different configurations. The first, a two-seat roadster, weighed just 455 kg and was capable of reaching 190 km/h. The second was built with a closed Berlinetta body and capable of 200 km/h. The body was due to be built by Carrozzeria Colli for the Mille Miglia, but it but was not completed in time. This is the car on offer here, and it was updated subsequently with a Torpedo-style body and cycle wings for better performance.

Chassis PS147 was driven by Luciano Pagani, the son of Luigi, in several hillclimbs in 1949, and it won the Tresenda Aprica. In 1951, he finished third in class at the Campo dei Fiori, Varese, won the Lecco-Balisio and finished fifth at the Mont Cenisio Susa hillclimb. The car was then sold to its second owner and ended up locked away in a garage, and as recalled by Mario Righini, who bought it from the first owner’s nephew in 1971, there was a tree outside the entrance that had to be cleared in order to pull out the car. Mr. Righini retained it until 1991, when the current owner bought it. That year, a restoration was commenced to its original specification, down to the body, which was finished as original, with the colour matched from a paint sample. Now, PS147 is in excellent mechanical condition, with the engine having been completely rebuilt two years ago, and the car has already participated in the Mille Miglia retrospective. This car also has the advantage of being extremely light and very powerful, in contrast to most barchettas of the era, which were in fact usually Fiat 1100 derivatives, for obvious economic reasons. This car is a much more refined automobile and a very capable performer, at that.