As Lancia’s notoriety spread stateside following World War II, the time came for the company to offer an open sports car to the booming market in the United States. The result, the Aurelia B24S Spider, was built to a design by Pinin Farina, and it ranks among the most striking automobiles of its decade, boldly challenging Ferrari with its aggressive hood scoop, flowing front wings, softly curving rear wings with mild flares, and a wrap-around windshield. It is muscular yet restrained, sporting yet elegant—everything that an aristocrat’s high-speed summer transportation should be.

The Spider’s advanced specification, semi-custom bodywork, and superb build quality made it expensive to build. Only 181 left-hand drive Spiders were made, of which only 114 examples survive today, and even fewer are in restored condition.

The car offered here at Villa Erba is one of the few equipped with a glove box door, as found with U.S.-delivery cars, and it is also fitted with metric Italian gauges. At one point, it was owned by the late Gary Lee Byrd, a legendary figure among American Lancia enthusiasts, noted for his passion for the marque and for owning and restoring, at one point or another, virtually every model the factory ever produced. He was once described as “the most knowledgeable Lancisti on the West Coast”, respected for his knowledge and the quality of the automobiles he owned.

The Spider has since been the recipient of a decade-long restoration, personally directed by the owner, with a Turin-based specialist in the Lancia brand. During the restoration, the original colours of beige over black were replaced with sporting red over biscuit tan, always appropriate to an Italian sports roadster. It is important to note that the car retains a rare, original domed horn button, seldom seen on restored examples. Always treated like a work of art to be admired, the Lancia has been driven only 690 kilometres since completion of the restoration, all during regular short tours in the Turin area, to keep the car mechanically functioning as it should.

These stunning Spiders are highly prized by their intensely loyal owners. They offer a nearly ideal combination of desirable characteristics: they are fast, with delightfully nimble handling, quick and responsive steering, and undeniable grace and beauty. Their racing bloodlines and thoroughly sporting manner makes them not only eligible for, but ideal candidates to participate in, any important driving event worldwide.

They are seldom, if ever, offered. The competition for this car may be expected to be intense—exceeded, perhaps, only by the rewards that the car will offer the winning bidder.