Lancia Beta Spyder

When the exuberantly orange (well… Giallo HF for the purists out there) Lancia Fulvia recently left the workshop after its rebuild was complete, it all felt a bit drab and dull around here. There was, as always, plenty of rare and interesting Italian cars for us to occupy ourselves with (see what’s in the workshop here), but the cheery little Fulvia had brightened our mornings every day as we unlocked and opened up.

Thankfully, we weren’t waiting long for our next Lancia-badged ray of sunshine as, soon after, this Lancia Beta Spyder arrived with us for the italicar touch. A Guernsey car, it has travelled far across land and sea over to Norwich’s Little Italy after some time off the road.

Our first item on the to-do list is some pretty hefty engine work as its 2.0 Lampredia twin-cam has turned up in a state of semi-rebuild, but overall the car presents in remarkably original condition. At this stage we’ve only checked it over very quickly visually, but this certainly isn’t another complete rebuild type of project. It’s all there and, by and large, and looks to be in very good condition.

‘Timewarp car’ may be an overused term thanks to over-enthusiastic sellers on online classified sites, but this Beta Spyder encapsulates its period so perfectly, we’ve already fallen in love with it. Garish paintwork? Check. Rev-happy naturally aspirated twin-cam? Check. Over-engineered Lancia exuberances? Check. Interior that looks like it could belong in the MOMA? Check.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Beta Spyder like this - maybe the Guernsey weather is more forgiving than that we’re used to on Norfolk’s coast? To follow our progress with this headturning Lancia rarity, be sure to check back here regularly or why not follow us on social media?