1949 Lancia Aprilia Cabriolet by Pininfarina

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a very rare and elegant 1949 Lancia Aprilia Cabriolet by Pininfarina. One of just a handful built to special order. this car is extra special being the actual 1949 Motor Show car.

A brief history of the Aprilia:
The Lancia Aprilia Berline was introduced in 1937. he last Lancia to have Vincenzo Lancia's input before his death. Sliding pillar front suspension was carried on from previous models. he engine was a narrow angled V4 1300cc unit (one cylinder head). Rear suspension was trailing arm with a transverse leaf spring mounted onto the rear differential. Brakes were hydraulic. ront and rear drums. he rears being inboard. The original Berline bodyshell was a monocoque construction. ith a pillarless. front and rear door opening. All very advanced and all of which made the car a revelation in it's day and still a fantastic car to drive today.

Coachbuilt Aprilia Specials:
As was the practice at this time. many manufacturers. including the main Italian marques would offer chassis based on current production cars to independent coachbuilders. uch as Pinin Farina. agato etc for them to place their own creations onto.

Carrozzeria Pinin Farina:
Carrozzeria Pinin Farina were founded in 1930 by Batista Pinin Farina. aving broken away from his brothers company. Stabilimenti Farina. Laterly best known for their tie up with Ferrari. inin Farina were initially helped in the early days with financial backing from Vincenzo Lancia. o it is no surprise that there has always been a strong connection between the two companies. Pinin Farina built a number of variations on the Aprilia platform. ome of them very attractive. some less so. Our car. n my opinion is a very elegant and stylish example of the work of a company. who now. re possibly the most famous of all the independent coachbuilders.

KYN 18 History:
KYN is a very rare car indeed. fficial production figures are not available but they were produced in very small numbers. perhaps just a handful being built and as previously mentioned. number of bodies were produced by Pinin Farina with slight variations. KYN has always been a UK car. the history file references it as being the very car that Lancia displayed on their stand at the 1949 UK Motor Show. A couple of nice pictures of the car from this show are included in the history file.
After this. t is known to have belonged to one of the very early. possibly even founding members of the UK Lancia Motor Club. From more recent times. relatives of another previous owner have been in touch with us to say how pleased they were to see the car again and how much of an enthusiast the then owner was.
In the history file we also have two. old style card log books and a very nice collection of letters. ills and receipts from previous owners as. ell as some nice Aprilia literature.

KYN now stands as an older restoration. probably circa late 1980's. The bodywork is sound and the chassis is solid. it presents smartly but it makes no pretentions to being a concours car. There are some imperfections in the paint and some minor points of blistering but no major rust issues. We have been informed that the car was stripped back to bare metal and repainted in the late 1980's/early 90's. Also. the gearbox was fully rebuilt around this time and I have to comment that it was clearly rebuilt well. s it's a delight to use. More recent work has been carried out on the brakes. his including new flexi hoses. heel cylinders and shoes. The interior is tear free and has a nice patina to the leather. he hood has a repair but it is still perfectly useable. The hood drops and closes with ease.

Running & Driving:
The car is up and running and useable. it travels along quite nicely. specially with the roof down and some sunshine. as previously mentioned. he gearbox is a delight. The clutch operates fine and the brakes have good firm feel to the pedal. although just bedding in. fter the recent work.

Summary:
KYN is a very rare and stylish car. values of these early Pinin Farina coachbuilt cabriolets have been steadily rising over recent years and now stand very high. Our car is not a concours show car but presents smartly and elegantly. It is a good car to run and improve as you go. A similar Aprilia Cabriolet. slightly less attractive is currently available in Italy for 130. 00 Euro's. our example is considerably less than this. This is a wonderful historically significant car. a full four seater and great fun to use and own. a very practical investment.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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