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Could Gigi Villoresi have beaten the BMWs with this fascinating V-8 Lancia Spider? jonathan Sharp provides the color photos and information from the Museo Nicolis.
The 1937 Astura Spider shown in the Nicolis museum was prepared in 1939 by Carrozzeria Colli, by order of the Milanese Scuderia Ambrosiana, for one of the Scuderia’s top drivers, Luigi ‘Gigi’ Villoresi.
The car, whose engine gave 110 bhp compared with 82 bhp of the series version thanks to an experimental hemispheric cylinder head similar to the one of the new Aprilia, was entered for the 1940 the Mille Miglia, but unfortunately Gigi Villoresi had a road accident during the running in of the car and so he could not participate in the race. (There was no Mille Miglia in 1939; the event was suspended in 1938 after an accident that took the lives of 10 spectators.)
The Villoresi Astura ready to race in the 1940 Mille Miglia. However, it was not to be; the war came and it would have to wait until 1949 to actually run in the Mille Miglia. Photo from “La Sport ei suoi artigiani”.
In the post-war years, this car was raced by several Italian drivers, among whom Franco Cortese who gained the highest success, before being sold to the English drivers John Gordon and David Lewis who drove it at the 1949 Mille Miglia. Ending its race career, the car was used for much less noble actions: the smuggling of precious watches from Switzerland to Italy. Seized by the Swiss police, for many years the Astura remained forgotten in a warehouse, where it was rediscovered by Luciano Nicolis who brought it to Italy and had it restored in order to proudly use it at the most prestigious classic car events.
Jonathan Sharp photo.
Jonathan Sharp photo.
Jonathan Sharp photo.
Read much more about the Nicolis Museo.
Very good to see a well-known Lancia featured. However I feel sure there is something missing from the history of this car, which I believe to be chassis 41-3207.
The history I have can be supplied in detail but is that in fact John Gordon bought this car, probably in 1947 and is said to have been s0ld it by Felice Bonetto. Gordon had seen the car in Italy whilst serving in the British Army and then it was seen in Milano by the UK motoring journalist John Eason-Gibson in later 1945 when he was still in the UK Services. He was taken out by Eugenio Minetti and indeed had a drive of it. This was written up in “The Motor” magazine, November 14th, 1945 pages 288 to 290. Subsequently John Gordon went to Italy looking for a sports car to race and saw the car again, although it was too expensive at first.
It was imported to the UK and registered JLM 317, which was issued from 1947 by London County Council. The Italian registration before import was probably MI-77809.
I also have a photo of the car with race number 75 and a PROVA registration MI-175.
Gordon entered the car in the 1948 Mille Miglia but did not get as far as Dover and again in 1949 as mentioned. The details of this and other matters were written up by the late Ron Barker in the UK Lancia Motor Club Journal Summer 1969 issue. It also appeared at Spa 24 hours in 1948 and Spa 12 hours in 1949.
Ron Barker had seen the car in London by 1951 and after John Gordon started making the Peerless cars in Slough, UK he sold it to him. [Peerless cars started in 1957, and John Gordon was behind the later Gordon-Keeble sports car]. Barker started working on the car in 1962 but progress was delayed to 1967 after which it appeared in various Club events in the UK.
Sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s it was sold to Italy and then of course from at least 1982 it has appeared regularly in Nicolis’s hands in the Mille Miglia event and elsewhere and generally had a good life being used and photographed.
I believe this to be more or less correct, but am ready to hear what others have to say.
Other references I have are:
Motor Sport, August 1948 p 251
Veteran and Vintage Magazine Feb. 1964 by Ron Barker
VSCC Bulletin No. 100 1968
Car Magazine April 1969 pp 52-55
There is more information about this car at:
http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5090.0
although other Asturas owned by Ron Barker are also mentioned,
and in particular Paolo Giusti’s contribution:
This is some more information on the MM Astura from Paolo Giusti:-
I know this car, as i had a long chat about it with the son of Minetti last June. This car has the 41-3207 chassis, a late 1938 production. Because this chassis was unsold at the factory, Eugenio Minetti, the Lancia dealer in Milan and one of the founders of the Scuderia Ambrosiana, decided to buy it and assigned it to Villoresi. Minetti, with a 1937 Aprilia, and Villoresi joined in the 1940 1000 miglia. Both the cars were coachbuilt by Colli and fitted up by Pagani. Pagani was the chief-mechanic of the Scuderia and he set up 2 special heads for the cars. Particularly the Astura had a special head, 2 Zenith carbs and 2 ignition coils, 30/35 CV more than the standard engine. Unfortunately both the race drivers had engine failures: Villoresi during the step closer to Brescia and Minetti during the race. After WWII Pagani opened his own workshop and fitted up the Astura again. So Cortese won the 1946 circuito di Luino race and Minetti the 1946 circuito di Modena race with this car. Later Gordon bought the car in July 1947. I wrote a short Minetti’s story on the viva-lancia forum:http://www.viva-lancia.com/lancia_fora/read.php?337,1042525.