Car in the Spotlight: 1970 Lancia Flávia 2000 Coupe

Welcome to our regular ‘Car in the Spotlight’ feature, and a big thank you to William Wynn, the owner of My Car Heaven, for providing us at ‘My Car Heaven’ such fascinating insight to buying and owning this stunning car. Everyone should own a Lancia at some point in their life.

.

What is it about the Lancia Flávia 2000 Coupe you love?

“Firstly I think it’s a beautiful looking car, plus it was designed by Pininfarina, the iconic Italian coachbuilder. I think it looks very similar to the Ferrari 330, for a fraction of the price, complete with just as much driving pleasure and enjoyment. Lancia’s are a real drivers car.”

.

When and where did you buy it?

“When I first saw the car it was on eBay, and I wasn’t looking to buying a car, as was the case with the Limited Edition Ferrari Dealers Edition Fiat 500, just a great car at a fair price and I couldn’t help myself. I just saw it and thought it was beautifully made, so made an offer, went to bed, and woke the next morning to see I’d won the car. As they say, the rest is history.

The car was located near Herefordshire so I took the train with the intention of completing the purchase if the car looked as good as it did in the ad. I purchased the car in 2017, so a relatively new arrival for me.”

.

Why did you buy the car, as opposed to another model or manufacturer?

“The car struck me as an excellent purchase and investment. I’ve never owned a Lancia, but most car journalists and critics raved about them, so I thought why not.

I wasn’t looking to buy a car, but like many other car obsessed people, I look at cars pretty much every day. I saw this car for sale and it looked exceptional value for money, as well as being a very cool classic car. The seller also had every single piece of paperwork from its 1970 release date to the present day, which was vitally important to me. In addition it looks great, it’s very rare in right-hand drive, and it’s designed by Pininfarina, who rarely make an undesirable car. According to howmanyleft.co.uk, the website that tells you how many cars are left in the UK (Licenced or Sorn), there are 7 Lancia Flavia 2000 coupe in the UK, and how many are RHD, who knows.”

.

What made you buy your car online?

“I love looking at cars, and regularly browse sites like eBay and various classic car websites, keeping a beady eye for good deals. eBay often throws up a good unique or rare car, so I always browse just in case I see something different/ special. In the case of the 1970 Lancia Flávia 2000 coupe I was in the right place at the right time.”

What was the purchase price, and what is its current value?

“I paid £14,750 and I’ve since spent over £5k making improvements with well-known Lancia experts Omicron. It’s very hard to value a car of this age, around 50 years old, as they’re desirable to some and not others, and incredibly rare. If you value the Ferrari 330 at over £180k, in my opinion the Lancia should be between £40-50k.

This actual car is a timewarp, it still has its original 1970s tax disc on the car, an eight track cassette recorder and radio, and transports you back to what it must’ve been like to drive and own in 1970.  Whilst writing this article I went through all the paperwork, and re-sorted it, it took me half a day, but I came across some interesting facts/ paperwork, such as a letter from Jeremy Clarkson’s wife, and a Goodwood Road Racing Club 2004 Vehicle Display factsheet, and many wore cool items.”

.

How much does it cost to service and tax?

“It’s a cheap car to run and maintain, although if you intend to do major fixes your body work, that could prove to be expensive. My first service on the car was £250 approximately. There is no tax on the car given it’s over 50 years old. I am servicing (£179) and doing an MOT this week (£50), not that it needs to have an MOT by law anymore, I just like to have it done for my piece of mind.”

.

What does it feel like to drive?

“It’s an event, as it should be with any classic car or supercar. It’s a fun car with great noise from the engine. By modern standards the car is less comfortable and less easy to drive, but it’s a drivers car and makes you feel alive. It puts a huge smile on my face, which many new cars are unable to do.”

.

How often do you drive it?

“Like all of my cars I’d say I don’t drive it enough, probably 5 or 6 times per year on average (100-500 miles). Like all my cars, this car has very low mileage for its age, 86350 at the time of writing, so that’s 1,727 per year throughout its 50 year life) and as an investment I’m acutely aware of the value that a near perfect, low mileage example brings.”

.

Have you and car been on any eventful journeys?

“Nothing springs to mind in terms of road trips or driving to majestic venues or buildings. The trip home from the purchase was great, the car had no issues with the 150+ miles on backroads or the motorway, I was a very happy man that day.  The only other notable event that I can highlight and maybe many a classic car owner or a potential classic car owner can relate to the following. I decided to take the Lancia when taking my wife out for ‘date night’. All was going well until the car felt like it was not driving as it should do. I pulled the car over to see one of the rear tyres was very flat.

Luckily there was no damage, But I took the opportunity to look into the age of all of the tyres and was shocked to hear one was from the 1970s, a couple from the 90s, and I believe one from 2000. Tyres, irrespective of use, overtime perish, so they really should be replaced. I took the car to the local garage and had all of the tyres replaced which gave me peace of mind for all of my future driving trips.”

.

Is there another classic or supercar that you’d like to buy and why?

“Of course, I’m a car nut after all. There’s thousands of cars that I’d like to own, buy or drive. I’m not actively seeking a new car, but I have been thinking I’d like to get an old Land Rover defender 110 for me and my family’s outdoor life, to carry the dog, the bikes etcetera, and I’ve been quite surprised as to the demand for these vehicles. It’s proving tricky to source the right one.

If money was no object I would be keen on a Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta, an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, a Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada, a Lamborghini Miura, Lamborghini Diablo, any Pagani, the list goes on and on.”

.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to buy this model of car?

“Take your time and make sure a car of this age has excellent bodywork as bodywork will be the main cost if anything needs to be fixed. Look closely at the car history, check the paperwork, and consider who you’re buying the car from, and you’ll get a feel for the quality of the purchase. Be prepared to pay above.”

.

How does it compare to newer models?

“This is the only Lancia that I’ve ever driven so it’s hard to compare to any other Lancia, but it’s certainly a driver’s car. For me as a person who likes drivers cars and feeling in gauged it certainly does that, but it doesn’t have all of its creature comforts of the new cars are some 20 3040 years newer. If I was looking to drive from London to Scotland I certainly would prefer a road trip in a more comfortable car not to say this car is uncomfortable but the newer the car the better the suspension the better the tires the better the interior et cetera.”

.

How’s the current market for this car, and how do you see this evolving?

“I feel this is an impossible question to answer. Any car this old and this rare is very difficult to value because you very rarely see them for sale. I certainly believe that the Lancia marque is an undervalued one and there are bargains to be had. I can only see the Lancia cars and this particular model going up in value. As I said previously, if your Ferrari 330 is £180k+, then it’s hard to equate that the Lancia Flavia 2000 coupe is worth less than half or a third of the value. In my opinion this car is worth between £30-60k at least depending on the quality of the car. Time will tell.”

__________________

So there you have an owners view on his car, ownership and more. A big thanks to Will for telling us all about his 1970 Lancia Flávia 2000 Coupe.

Would you like your car featured in our ‘Car in the Spotlight’ Series?

Do you have a car of interest? Would you like your car featured in our ‘Car in the Spotlight’ Series? If so, please do get in touch with us, send us an email to info@mycarheaven.com with a subject line: Featuring my car in your “Car in the Spotlight”.

Make sure that you are subscribed to our newsletter and following us on our social media channels to keep up to date with news, reviews, more “car in the spotlight” features and of course our competitions.

 Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube | Follow us on Facebook |  Follow us on Twitter