Lancia Motor Club

I had to look back into my old copies of LMC News Sheets from the 1980s to check up on some dates. I hadn’t looked at the old News Sheets for some time and I was agreeably surprised to find how good they were as companion publications to the quarterly Journals. In the late 1980s the editor was Ted Gibbs.

I scanned two examples of front covers that caught my eye – see attached. The one from April 1986 includes this photo, which is attributed to John Maltby, but without any explanation about what and where the gathering was. Another, from September 1985 includes an Eddie Gee sketch inspired by the Flavia Sport!

Colin

I have travelled in NGP 50 Aprilia special, all I can remember was it was noisy in the back, but I was only a youngster,there is a good chance that my fathers car may be in the picture if it was taken in the UK Aprilia EGH 387

Brillo factory somewhere

I think the car on the end is a Cisitalia.

Brian
8227 8)

Roger is saying it's an Aprilia special. Since he's ridden in it I assume he's right. I agree though, presumably it was 'inspired' by the Cisitalia, or even designed by the same design house?

That's my all time favourite Aprilia. I drove it a lot in the 1950s and 60s, when I worked for John Maltby. He eventually sold it to Roger Perry.  It had a fabulously fast steering column gear change and a live rear axle. It would easily do 100 mph, probably due to its shape, even when fitted with a first series motor. Maltby had a grille from an Appia fitted, as the original one didn't appeal to him!
Regards, John

I stand corrected :(

brian
8227 8)

Grill reminds me of a Ford 100e  :D

This car has been written about before. The story was that it was built in 1950/51 with body by Stabilimenti Farina for the Mille Miglia of that year, but never raced – perhaps because it was too heavy to be fully competitive. The style is very much like Cisitalia of the same period. Others have seen it almost as a prototype for the Aurelia B20.

I assume John Maltby owned it at the time the photograph was taken, when it still had its original front end. I am surprised to hear that John changed the front because he preferred the Appia – I had assumed the front was damaged in a crash and it was easier to change it, rather than put it back to original. Photos attached show it in profile with signs of front end damage – the other as it was in 1968 when Roger Perry enjoyed it, complete with modified front end. Wherever the car is now, I would expect it’s been put back to its original form.

The *RILLO factory sign is interesting. I doubt it is “Brillo”, which is a trade name for a product - I doubt it would have merited such a big and bold sign. The other Aprilias in the photo also have UK plates, so presumably it’s in the UK, but I don’t know where.

Colin

Wonderful, particularly in profile.

Hi all, re Brillo, if you look above the 5th Aprilia in the photo you will see the name Brillo.  I have a reverse image of the side on photo with damage, on my wall where I am typing, it looks like mine was taken at the same time,not sure where it was taken, some say in the lake district, but I think if anyone would know it would be John

Thanks Roger, I hadn't noticed that smaller Brillo sign. I have now looked it up and indeed there was a such a a factory - the Brillo Manufacturing Company Of Great Britain (they were bought out by Johnsons in 1986 who now make the product in Sussex). So, it looks like the photo was taken at Maidenhead.

Also, two more photos of NGP: One of the 'other side', probably taken at the same time as the first profile, which shows no sign of the front damage, so maybe I was wrong about a crash leading to the change of front . The other of a rear view for comparison with a B20.

Colin

A592 on the north bank of Ullswater looking towards Martindale?

Does this interesting car still exist, and if so is it in the UK?

I expect it still exists, but Roger Perry sold it to someone in Italy many years ago, where it presumably still is. All very interesting!
Regards, John

I think this is it now. http://www.lancistas.com/temas/auto-e-moto-depoca-padova-2012.2589/

After Roger's death it went to a somewhat secretive and mystery buyer in Italy. It's great to see this photo of it restored to its original form - thanks for posting it Ade. It would be good to see more photos, including some of the instruments and controls - I remember the short gear shift on the steering column with a beautiful jewel-like amber/plastic knob. And what of the engine? When Roger had it the engine was from a standard Aprilia, whereas originally it had a very special engine with a deeply finned rocker cover hiding something very clever.

Colin

Beautiful car. The back end comparison to B20 is quite nice.

Anyone have any thoughts on why the bonnet line is so long? Especially visible in the left side profile shot - in the length of the wheel arch to windscreen.

Hi Colin, the lower photo is the one i have on the wall in the front room,

Not sure if Brillo Pads are still around, if not certainly something like them.
Brian,8227 8)

Hi Brian
According to Grace's guide Brillo pads have been made at Frimley Green Camberley since 1917 and are still going.
I think that old building has gone though.
Geoff Johnson

The idea of abrasive Brillo pads and big factories to make them, like in the photograph, does not fit easily in my mind with the genteel nature of Maidenhead and Frimley Green. But it’s good to be corrected.

Colin

I suspect the Cordwallis Industrial Estate is a little less desirable a location than some other parts of Maidenhead.

Was there a Lancia facility next door to Brillo?

I'm pretty sure not, but when I first saw the photograph I wondered if there was a Brillo works next to Lancia in Alperton. I went there many times, but can't remember who was next door! 
Regards, John

Before we move on from this Aprilia, here is a Roger Perry photo of it taken in about 1965. For comparison, there is also a photo of my B20 taken at exactly the same spot in Church Crescent Muswell Hill, north London, almost 30 years later.

In response to Geoff’s question – it was a very long bonnet with lots of space behind the motor and gearbox. The steering column was so long the steering wheel was almost in the vertical plane, which felt good. I guess the car was built on the standard telaio floor pan and Farina chose to place the cabin towards the rear, rather than give it a longer back end. One of the weak points of this set up was the live rear-axle using half-shafts with keys at the outer ends, which were prone to shearing with complete loss of final drive. I hope the new owner has found a solution.

Colin

Lovely stuff - of course the Eddie Gee sketch being my highlight for all I love that special Aprilia. 

Any more of Eddie's work to hand? His isn't a name I recognise...

David

I met Eddie back in the 70s. He was then an avid collector of Asturas.

His wife seemed quite knowledgeable on Lancia matters and when asked by Lynn how she knew so much responded "Well, if I don't know about Lancias I don't get to talk at all!!!" That kept Lynn quiet .... but only for a short while!!

He used to produce cartoons for the front cover of the magazine, a great talent! I particularly remember his one when of the white hen (Y10)!!!

                                            Andy

Hi Frank
After looking again at Graces Guide I found this old advert giving their address as North Circular Road London NW10
That would put it pretty close to Alperton! Sorry for previous misleading information.
Geoff Johnson

I am reviving this thread as it’s the best place to post another great photo of the Stabilimenti Farina Aprilia once owned by John Maltby and Roger Perry. See earlier posts for more about this car and other photos. This new photo, which has just come to light, is another by John Maltby and was almost certainly taken on the same day in the Lake District as the two other photos. Not only is it a great photo, but it also clearly shows the original front-end before it was re-modelled after a crash.

Perhaps the administrator can re-title this thread to show that it is mostly concerned with this special car – say add the words 'Stabilimenti Farina Aprilia'.

Colin

A stunning car and a gorgeous photo. Thank you for posting.

Dually added Colin, if additional tweeking needed let me know


P

I have a very similar photo on my wall possibly same location. mine is a complete side on photo

This thread was last active six years ago and I have recently had news of this car, and can give an update. The current owner lives near Verona and he has sent me photos and information about how the car is now and its origins. The attached photos show it in a pristine state after a lavish restoration and now with an original Nardi twin-carb head. It seems to have been transformed from the somewhat spartan and gutsy car that I and others knew in the 1960s to something of a luxury touring car, but I guess that is the inevitable result of a complete restoration. It is pleasing to see that Nardi head with cable-drive from the back of the cam for the tacho, which was missing when I knew the car. But it is a pity it has lost its quick-action steering column gear-shift, that was such a delight to use.

The origins of the car and how it found its way to England make an interesting, if complicated story and I should write it up for Viva Lancia. In summary, its engineering design was by Giovanni Basso, bodywork design by Giovanni Michelotti, built by Stabilimenti Farina and first exhibited in 1949. Basso was involved with other innovative designs around this time and Michelotti went on to design other notable cars (including the Flavia Convertible). Although commissioned by Alcide Ferri (another family name to be conjured with), who had the Lancia concession at Udine in north-east Italy, the first named owner in 1950 was Enrico Magnani, when it was first registered as ‘PC 15245’, which it is again now. Surprisingly, Magnani moved to England with the car in 1950 and it presumably soon acquired the UK registration ‘NGP 50’, which is how most of us knew it.
 
There is something of a mystery about what happened to the car until it was first registered under John Maltby’s name in 1958. I will post more about this and other uncertainties later. One question for now that would help date some old photos – does anyone know when Harry Manning was first in business at Heath End, and when did he move from the old Nissen-hut workshop to the ‘modern’ premises in Upper Weybourne Lane, where I first met him in 1963?

Thanks for the update Colin 👍

A most fascinating Lancia, many thanks Colin.
  From page 239 of The Book, wasn't the Nissen hut and part of the plot sold to Shell Petroleum via National Benzole in 1963? Not necessarily the moving date but a date of sale.

  Richard

Ade, thanks, this is the same car you photographed in 2012, when I guess its restoration was unfinished. Richard, thanks, I didn’t know the date and it confirms Harry’s place seemed ‘new’ when I first went there.
 
One of the mysteries about that car is what happened to it from 1950, when it was thought to be imported into the UK, until 1958, when a copy of the log-book shows John Maltby as the first owner of it, registered as NGP 50. The attached photos explain more. The “Offers to … Box ...” one is clearly Magnani offering the car in the UK, but there is no clue to the date. The three photos of the car while it is being scrutinised (note the measuring stick!) show it still on Italian plates. These looks to me like they were taken at Harry Manning’s old workshop, but again there is no clue to the date. Could it have been soon after the car was imported in 1950? Can anyone confirm the location? Then there is the photo of an extract from what looks like Motor Sport, which shows it as NGP 50, but no mention of John Maltby and no indication of the date. Does the name John Bremner ring any bells?

Another thing about the “Offers to ...” photo. I remember talking about this photo when first seen in the 1960s – there was a thought that “H E Magnani” might be a spoof name for Harry Manning and it was he advertising a car that he had imported. Now known to be wrong – Magnani really did exist and he continued to live in the UK, and died in 2021 while living at an address in Putney. Did anyone ever hear of him?

More and later mysteries to follow.

Here are the missing photos that I couldn’t post yesterday.

Also to add, my March issue of Viva Lancia arrived today and there is an interesting article by Sergio Limone, which relates to this story. Sergio includes photos from the recent Retromobile of a 1950 Aprilia-Aurelia ‘special’. This is also a Basso and Michelotti designed car built by Stabilimenti Farina, a sister-car to the Aprilia Mille Miglia car. And until a few weeks ago, when the Aurelia engine car was sold, both cars were owned by the same family! 

In putting so many questions in my last post trying to find out more about what happened in the 1950s, I was being too optimistic – perhaps I should have asked a medium or a clairvoyant! Fortunately, Richard Fridd stepped in and sent me copies of two pages from the October 2012 issue of Viva Lancia, which were to do with Basso and this very car. Somehow, I missed that issue and it helps fill in some of the gaps. It seems the car was imported in 1954 and not 1950. The photos I posted were taken, as I had surmised at Harry Manning’s old place, and they were taken by no less than Gerald Batt. Still no fix on the date, but getting close to when it was first registered to John Maltby as the first UK owner in 1958.

One of the remaining puzzles is to do with the original engine. The Harry Manning workshop photos show the special Nardi head, rocker-cover and twin carbs. However, when I knew the car from 1963 with John Maltby and later with Roger Perry, it had a ‘standard’ Aprilia engine fitted with a single ‘big’ Weber. I have asked John Millham about this and he has the same memory. Had that engine been available when Roger Perry had the car, he would have certainly fitted it. After Roger’s death in 1992, NGP was sold to a mystery buyer in Italy and it was transported by the Rudlers to the workshop of Giancarlo Cappa (KCA), who did amazing restorations. I wonder if Ade or Ed recall a spare engine being part of the package? Whatever, the car now has its original Nardi-head engine and I bet it goes like stink!

Still thinking about special Aprilia engines, the attached photo (copied from a KCA advertisement) shows a Pagani very clever cross-flow head. Wouldn’t that have been wonderful?