1977 Lancia Montecarlo MkI Coupe (RHD)

Description

Lancia's Beta Montecarlo started life as a striking design concept by the renowned Italian styling house Pininfarina, penned by Paolo Martini and was originally slated to be a Fiat before X1/9 project was given the green light. The first car built in-house by Pininfarina, the production Montecarlo was unveiled at the 1975 Geneva Motor Show and shared little in common with its more prosaic Lancia siblings other than the twin-cam 2-litre engine designed by Lampredi and five-speed transaxle. With 122 horsepower delivered at 6000rpm, the Lancia enjoyed sparkling rather than supercar performance, recording a top speed of 190 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of approximately 9.3 seconds, while the mid-engined layout endowed the car with excellent handling characteristics. Two models were available, the coupe and spider, which featured a folding canvas roof. The Montecarlo was marked in the United States as the Scorpion for just two years, with larger bumpers and all convertibles and Lancia introduced a revised Series 2 model in 1979 with an updated grille, glazed rather than solid rear buttresses and new 14-inch alloy wheels. The engine was given higher compression, Marelli electronic ignition and new carburettors to boost performance, while further detail changes included a new three-spoke Momo wheel and better brakes. Lancia developed the Montecarlo for competition in very different arenas, the flame-spitting turbocharged Group 5 monsters winning the 1980 and 1981 World Championships while the car also formed the basis of the 037 Group B, both running in the iconic Martini colours. In total Lancia produced some 7798 examples of the Montecarlo before production ceased in 1982, of which a little more than half were Spiders.