A 1970 Lancia Fulvia Coupè Rallye 1.3 S, driven by Swiss drivers Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger and part of the Kessel team, won the 25th edition of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, the historic version of the world's oldest road rally.
A rally icon
The Fulvia Coupé, one of the most famous Lancia cars, became famous for its versatility: while the racing version was aggressive and competitive, the road version was an elegant coupé known for its comfortable interior.
The history of the Fulvia Coupé began in 1965, when it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show two years after the now almost forgotten sedan as an elegant and compact vehicle. Compared to the Berlina, it was characterized by its more agile and sporty design, the 2+2 configuration, the bright interior, the large windows, the sloping windscreen and the rear window. Technically, however, the coupé was based on the front-wheel-drive saloon.
The Fulvia Coupé was inspired by the design of the Riva motorboats and had a sleek front end and a clean cut rear end.
The Fulvia Coupé made its racing debut in 1965 at the Tour de Corse. This was the beginning of a long racing career, which led to the Fulvia HF version (High Fidelity, the name of the Lancia Race Team) as early as 1966. The new 1.3 version from 1967 and 1.6 from 1968 established the Fulvia on the international racing scene. In 1972, Lancia made history with a Lancia Fulvia HF 1600 with starting number 14, which won the Monte-Carlo Rally with the Munari-Mannucci team.
25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique
The 25th edition of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique took place from January 27 to February 1 with the participation of 19 privately owned Lancia cars. The event is reserved for classic cars that have taken part in at least one Monte-Carlo Rally up to 1983. In total, more than 200 vehicles faced the tough test this year, competing from various starting points from Oslo to London, from Bad-Homburg to Reims and Turin. The legendary Lancia Rally 037 from the historic Stellantis collection was also on display.
Lancia remains the most successful brand in the history of rallying with 15 world championship titles, including the drivers' and constructors' championships, with legendary Lancia models such as the Fulvia, Stratos, 037 and Delta dominating international rallies in the 1970s and 1980s.