1981 Lancia Beta 2000 Spyder
Low mileage and ownership, 'garage find' example

Registration No: HHG 770W
Chassis No: 828BS1004714
MOT: Exempt

• Rare and desirable Lancia Beta Spyder, supplied new to the United Kingdom
• Only 56,527 miles from new (at the time of consignment)
• Single ownership between 1981-2021
• Recent ‘garage find’ (spending thirty-three years off the road) and highly original example
• Sympathetically recommissioned and running and driving during our photography session

The Lancia Beta Spyder was designed by Pininfarina and exclusively hand built by Zagato, with a 2+2 seating arrangement. The Spyder used the Coupé's shorter wheelbase and featured a Targa top roof panel, a roll-over bar and folding rear roof. The construction process was complex, with coupé bodies-in-white being delivered to Zagato for the roofless conversion, then back to Lancia for rustproofing, then back to Zagato for paint, interior and trim, and then back to Lancia for a third time for engine installation and final assembly. Production started in 1975, with Lancia reputedly losing money on every Spyder made! The revolutionary, Aurelio Lampredi (ex-Ferrari engineer) designed twin-cam is the most successful engine in the history of the World Rally Championship (models of note in which it was fitted 1966-2000 include the Fiat 124 & 131 Abarth's, and Lancia HF/ Integrale/ Montecarlo Turbo). Producing 122 bhp when new, fitted to car weighing only 1060kg & equipped with independent suspension, disc brakes all round & 5-speed gearbox, performance was lively indeed. An Italian Targa topped sports car with a brilliant heritage and history behind it, what’s not to like!

Manufactured new in 1981, ‘HHG 770W’ was supplied new by and first registered as a dealer demonstrator to Parkers Lancia of Bolton, and still displays its dealer number plates front and rear. Finished in White (Bianca Corfu) paintwork with complementary Black interior upholstery and a Black soft-top and Targa top, the Lancia was supplied new to its first private owner in 1981. Rust protected from new with 'Cryla Gard' Dupont acrylic resin coating protection, the Beta appears to have been coated with Ziebart in the inner wings and wing tops when new as well. Used sparingly in the first owner’s hands, the Lancia has covered 56,527 miles from new, with these miles covered before being placed into dry storage in 1988 (totaling under eight years on the road), being stored in a dry garage for the following thirty-three years. Featuring Pirelli Cinturato 14" tyres all round and including (unused) spare, the removable Targa top stows in the boot.

Purchased by the vendor in ‘garage find’ condition from the daughter of the first private owner in 2021, the Lancia was found to be highly original. The vendor informs that it is remarkably solid, likely due to the coating from new, and advised that a professional inspection revealed no welding would be required for an MOT and the car lifts square on its jacking points. Sympathetically recommissioned by the vendor, the Spyder has received a new in-line fuel pump, carburettor refresh, brake pipe renewal, and a fresh battery, with the Lancia starting readily and running and driving during our photography session, but will likely require further light recommissioning/checking through before general use. Complete with its alloy wheel centre caps, there are pleasingly no cracks present in the dashboard top.

Remarkably original, the bodywork and paintwork are believed as factory, with the first owner’s daughter informing that the Merino Sheepskin covers were custom made when her father acquired the car new, and thus the front seat material has been protected since 1981 and not directly sat upon since their families purchase, and thus in excellent preserved condition. Stowed in the boot is the tonneau cover, spare wheel and cover, jack, toolkit, owner’s handbook, and, painting a picture of its life pre-storage, a roll of 1980s retro shopping bags, various road maps, air show tickets, 17p fruit pastille wrappers and other items, all telling the tale of a much-loved family car in the day. A very rare Beta Spyder, with both low ownership and mileage, this is surely an unrepeatable original example, ‘HHG 770W’ would be ideal for summer use once checked through. It's a 'find another' situation!

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452

Condition Report

on C and C