KEEPERS
Paul’s love affair with Lancias started as a teenager, but it took him decades to have a Montecarlo of his own. Was it worth the wait?
PAUL BURNETT NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
‘I ’d wanted a Montecarlo ever since they were first released. My father-in-law used to have the franchise for Lancia in Northamptonshire – Broughton Motors, now long gone – so I spent my teenage years drooling over these Italian beauties. In fact, whenever the family want to tease me they dig out a photo from when I was a teenager wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt, my hair resting on my shoulders, leaning against a new Montecarlo. But I wasn’t even allowed to sit in the Montecarlo, much less actually drive it.
‘So that was the start of my love affair with Italian cars and with Lancias in particular. I never forgot that first gorgeous Montecarlo. But it took many years of patience before, just a few years ago, the dream finally came true and I managed to buy one of my own.
‘In fairness, I’d had experience with other Lancias leading up to the day when I bought this car. I started with a Beta saloon as my daily driver and then enjoyed Beta Coupes, and a Thema 2.0. Then, one day, I took the Thema in for service and spotted a dismantled Montecarlo Spider looking very sad in one corner. It was a stalled restoration, and I took the project through to completion. That was 20 years ago, but I never stopped looking for a Coupé.
‘I’d often admired one Montecarlo Coupé in particular – abeautifully restored car owned by a fellow Lancia Club member, so I was really disappointed when I discovered, maybe six or seven years ago, that it had been sold to another member. But then, three years ago, I got my chance when it was for sale again and I didn’t hesitate to make it mine.
‘And although fulfilling a dream can sometimes be a bit of a let-down, owning this car is every bit as wonderful as I’d anticipated, and I love driving it. This is a noisy little car, in the best possible way, and I certainly don’t object but it might perhaps be slightly less fun in the passenger seat! I remember a Motor magazine tester calling the engine noise a "raucous cacophony". There’s a radio fitted but it never gets turned on…
‘It was registered in 1982, but it’s a 1980 model. As for its design, it’s such a pretty car, particularly in this original Rosso colour. This is the first car that
Pininfarina actually built as well as penning the design – Lancia didn’t build them. The car has been really reliable and I’ve not had to do much to it; I just maintain it to the condition it was in when I bought it. Modifications have been small, but it has an Ansa exhaust, and it now breathes through two carburettors. I’ve been to Le Mans Classic and to club events around the UK, plus the show circuit.
CLUBS & SPECIALISTS
