1970s’ Lancia Fulvia Coupé wins the 2023 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique
A 1970 Lancia Fulvia Coupè Rallye 1.3 S driven by the Swiss Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger and belonging to the Kessel team won the 25th edition of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, the historical version of the oldest road rally in the world.
Lancia remains the most successful brand in the Rally history with 15 world titles, including the Drivers’ and Constructor’s Championship, with the legendary Lancia models like Fulvia, Stratos, 037 and Delta dominating international rallies in the Seventies and Eighties.
Fulvia Coupé, one of the most iconic Lancia vehicles, now inspiring the design of the future models of the brand, became famous for its eclecticism: while its racing version was aggressive and competitive, the road version was an elegant coupè, known for its comfortable interiors.
The history of Fulvia began in 1965, when it debuted as an elegant and compact vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show. Compared with the 1963 sedan, it stood out for its more agile and sporty design, the 2+2 configuration, bright cabin, large windows, slanted windshield and rear window.
Fulvia Coupé was inspired by the design of Riva motorboats and had a sleek front and clean cut at the tail. Its debut won over the public and critics, thanks to its classic “turret” cabin, which stood out for the incredible external visibility created by its large windows and thin pillars. The interiors were sporty yet elegant with a wooden dashboard and steering wheel. And moreover, on its complete instrument panel there were a large, round odometer and tachometer.
Its racing debut took place at the Tour de Corse in 1965. This was the start of a historic racing journey which led to the 1966 Fulvia HF version (High Fidelity, that was the name of the Lancia Race Team). The new 1967 1.3 version and 1968 1.6 version established the Fulvia on the international racing scene. In 1972, Lancia made the history with a Lancia Fulvia HF 1600, with race number 14, that won the Monte-Carlo Rally with the Munari-Mannucci team.
The 25th edition of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique took place from January 27th to February 1st with the participation of 19 Lancia vehicles, which belong to private owners. The race is reserved to classic cars which participated in at least one Automobile Monte-Carlo Rally up till 1983. A total of more than 200 vehicles took part in the competition this year, with the usual various starting “points” from Oslo, to London, from Bad-Homburg to Reims as well as Turin, where an iconic Lancia Rally 037 from the Stellantis historic collection was on display.
