Topic: Puzzle #815 - Solved! 1938 Lancia Astura Mille Miglia

[Otto Puzzell]

1938 Lancia Astura Mille Miglia


Know what it is?

Please, respond below and let us know the make and model designation of the car posted here.

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Thanks!

[jimjarron]

Veritas Scorpion?

[Otto Puzzell]

Not a Veritas...

[Otto Puzzell]

Moved

[Allan L]

1938 Lancia Astura Spyder by Pinin Farina

[Otto Puzzell]

Yep

[Joao Gois]

I'm sorry but that's not correct. That's a 1939 Astura Colli Spider, nothing to do with Pininfarina!

"From its inception the Astura was sold as a luxury touring car, but that didn’t stop ambitious customers from converting some of the 2900 examples into a race cars. The relaxed rules of the Mille Miglia meant that virtually anything with four wheels could contest the grueling race.
The first Asturas appeared at the Mille Miglia in 1933 and placed 40th overall. This was followed by an attempt in 1934 which Mario Nardilli and Carlo Pintacuda placed a remarkable 10th place. Not until 1940 did another Astura make an appearance at the great race with our feature red spider.
Prepared with a special body from Carrozeria Colli, this Lancia was prepared for Scuderia Ambrosiana. The engine was tuned with a new cylinder head to reach 100bhp. Luigi Villoresi was assigned to drive the car, but it suffered a road accident and did not finish.
The Colli Spider was later picked up by Franco Cortese. After some success, he then passed it on to English driver John Gordon. He entered it in the 1948 and 1949 Mille Miglias to limited success.
After it’s racing career was over, the Swiss police impounded the car for smuggling between Switzerland and Italy. It was found stored by Luciano Nicolis who restored the car. It is now retained by the Luciano Nicolis Museum where it is on permanent display.

Story by Richard Owen in http://www.supercars.net/cars/3164.html, 09/05/2008."

[@re]

I have many times found that site to be giving out all but correct information, but Mr. Owen might have got decent sources here.

[Allemano]

Agree with Joao Gois. There's no PF badge nor it has that certain Pininfarina touch.

[Allan L]

OK so my source was wrong about the coachbuilder, but not the main point that it's an unlikely-looking Lancia Astura. I can't remember where I got the Pinin Farina bit from.

I don't rely on the internet for my answers to these puzzles, preferring memory and books. Memory can be a fickle thing, and books can be wrong.
I have seen so much incorrect stuff on the internet that I only use it as a back-up, and to provide photos that I haven't got.

Just in case you are one of those who believes all the internet sources implicitly, I commend you to look at the Wikipedia entry for something that you are actually and professionally an expert in: unless you wrote it yourself, it will not accord with your beliefs.

[Otto Puzzell]

Well stated.

[Joao Gois]

OK so my source was wrong about the coachbuilder, but not the main point that it's an unlikely-looking Lancia Astura. I can't remember where I got the Pinin Farina bit from.

I don't rely on the internet for my answers to these puzzles, preferring memory and books. Memory can be a fickle thing, and books can be wrong.
I have seen so much incorrect stuff on the internet that I only use it as a back-up, and to provide photos that I haven't got.

Just in case you are one of those who believes all the internet sources implicitly, I commend you to look at the Wikipedia entry for something that you are actually and professionally an expert in: unless you wrote it yourself, it will not accord with your beliefs.

Obviously I'm not believing everything I read on the internet, I try to be as crytical with what I read as possible and always look to confirm it with other more reliable sources. But about this Astura, I'm sure it's THE Colli, i.e., the only one in existance, making it "easier" to confirm.

Nonetheless, I've been more than proved that you can rely as much on your own memory than in any other internet source. You said it youself you didn't know where you brought the Pinin Farina part from.

As for the books, I've found as much misleading information on them as in the internet so for me it's as valid as anyone else. Usually my "truth" will change acording to the largest amount of info I find, ading a good dal of good sense on it.

I just added the link and the quote so that you didn't think I was making it up, that's all 

[Otto Puzzell]

But about this Astura, I'm sure it's THE Colli, i.e., the only one in existance, making it "easier" to confirm.

Perhaps it has been reworked, but there are some detail differences beetwen the puzzle pic and the 'supercars' pic.

1. The marker lights are exposed on the puzzle car, and are tucked behind the cooling ducts on the super car.
2. The number of vertical bars in those cooling ducts seem to differ in number on the two pictured cars.

The green Astura (#622) that competed in the Mille Miglia in 1949 - also had exposed markers, and a bonnet with two large air scoops, and leather tie-downs where the rivets appear on the red car.

So, is the supercars concourse example an incorrect restoration, an incorrect recreation, a restoration of a car reflecting a period where the markers, grills and hood were changed to a different configuration before being returned to the original pic's config to race in '48 and '49, or perhaps a second example of the same original car?

[Joao Gois]

Perhaps it has been reworked, but there are some detail differences beetwen the puzzle pic and the 'supercars' pic.

1. The marker lights are exposed on the puzzle car, and are tucked behind the cooling ducts on the super car.
2. The number of vertical bars in those cooling ducts seem to differ in number on the two pictured cars.

The green Astura (#622) that competed in the Mille Miglia in 1949 - also had exposed markers, and a bonnet with two large air scoops, and leather tie-downs where the rivets appear on the red car.

So, is the supercars concourse example an incorrect restoration, an incorrect recreation, a restoration of a car reflecting a period where the markers, grills and hood were changed to a different configuration before being returned to the original pic's config to race in '48 and '49, or perhaps a second example of the same original car?

It was quite usual back in those days (as in today's...) to modify the race cars you bought acording to your needs. I don't know this for sure but what I can assume is that the pic in the puzzle might be an older pic of the car or something. But in 1949, when it was raced by the British driver John Gordon, he might have fitted that hood scoop to improve the air intake (the small wholes ove the grille in the original spec are quite... well, small!) and replace the rivets with the strap-ons because it was more reliable in such hard races as Mille Miglia was.

It's not unusual too to hide or delete markers in race-converted cars, specially if you suffered an accident (as stated on Richard Owen's text which, BTW, was quoted from the Museo Nicolis info, where the car is currently exhibited). Or it could be the result of the restauration (the puzzle pic might have been taken after the 1939 accident, when the rebuilt might have replaced the markers on the fender; originaly it might have actually been placed beneath the scoops), thus placing the markers on their original places.

Just some educated guesses (at least they all make sense to me and add-up to the events mentioned...). If anyone has more info that could clear this up, I'd appreciate!

Cheers!

[Wendax]

In 1946 at Modena