Famous are the Cobra/Ferrari wars, as are the American horsepower wars of the 1970s—but little known is the Italian economy car war of the early 1950s. In a total coincidence, the country’s two major manufacturers, Fiat and Lancia, both launched new small cars, the 1100 and the Appia, respectively, within weeks of one another. Both were of virtually equal dimensions, and their engines were of the same displacement!

Described amusingly by the Quattroruote Collection as the Fiat’s “antagonist par excellence”, the Appia benefitted from Lancia’s typical attention to quality and superb engineering. The last Lancia with the company’s sliding pillar front suspension, it had what remains of the narrowest-angled V-4s ever made, with a 10-degree “vee”, as well as overhead valves controlled by two camshafts off the crankshaft, and an aluminium cylinder head. The bodywork, styled after the Aurelia, was both elegant and innovative; the front and rear doors have no structural pillar twixt them, thus opening up the interior entirely for easy entrance and egress. Many aluminium components were used throughout, resulting in lightweight and good performance for the car’s overall size.

The Appia proved successful, though its sales were limited compared to the Fiat by its significantly higher price. Today, it is recalled as an important model in Lancia history and as one of the best Italian small cars of its era, as well as something of a style symbol in its own right—particularly the “purest” early model, the 1st Series.

The Collection’s Appia is one of these, a very late 1st Series model built in early 1955. Italian registration documents on file indicate that the car was originally delivered that year to a member of the Scevola-Ruscellotti Family in Milano. It was registered continuously by several members of that family through 1964, after which it was added to the Quattroruote Collection, where it has remained now for 50 years.

The car remains thoroughly original and extraordinarily well preserved both inside and out. It retains its original Milanese registration plates, 342671 MI, and the finishes of both the body and the interior are in very good condition—even the moulded plastic and glass of the dashboard are in fine order, with the odometer recording over 46,420 kilometres at the time of cataloguing; a low mileage in keeping with the condition of the car. Furthermore, the Appia retains its original engine, with a number stamping that matches that of its original registration documents.

In selecting historically important models of a certain marque, it is often harder to find excellent copies of low-cost models, which were so rarely preserved but often mattered so much to a manufacturer’s financial health. Here is the opportunity to acquire a fine 1st Series Appia to make the connoisseur’s Lancia collection complete.