Italian

The Lancia Beta Zagato was a quasi-convertible version of the Beta coupe along the lines of the Baur Targa-ized BMWs from the same era. The Zagato (or Spyder) is a very affordable way to get into an Italian car designed by Pininfarina produced in limited quantity, and it was super cheap…at least until a few years ago when people figured out that it was a Lancia. LANCIA! This is the Italian marque that was founded in Turin in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and his buddy Claudio Fogolin. Sure, Lancia was taken over by Fiat in 1969 and it turned into a has-been “other brand” like Fiat’s version of Pontiac/Oldsmobile/Buick…but Lancia was the company that won Formula 1 races in the 1950s and Juan Manuel Fangio wont the 1956 championship with a Lancia-Ferrari racing car that pioneered the use if the engine as a stressed chassis component. Later Lancia won the 1972 World Rally Championship with a rear-drive Stratos (and later the 037) when everyone else (ahem, Audi) was running all-wheel-drive. But this car is a Beta, so it is as far from racing as you could get…but Lancia won the 1981 World Sportscar Championship (with races at Dayton, Sebring, Monza, Silverstone, Riverside, Nürburgring, LeMans, Spa, Road America, and Brands Hatch) with a heavily modified Beta Montecarlo. Bottom line…buy this 1981 Lancia Zagato Spyder offered for $11,500 in Syracuse, NY via craigslist.

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