A delightful Dilambda

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Participants  of the 2013  100 Miles of Amsterdam rally may remember this beautifully mellow Lancia Dilambda from its valiant performance in the 2013 event. Although driver Guido Gast didn't manage to hustle the big tourer to the top of the results table, he did walk away with the coveted prize for Most Original Car – not surprising, as the Viotti-bodied beauty is untouched right down to the original paint. Only the seats have been re-trimmed, after the original leather was used to make shoes during the dark days of the second World War.

The Gast family are only the second owners of this fine motor car, Guido's father and uncle having purchased it in 1960 from its original owner, Mr Bootz, founder of the eponymous Dutch rum company. Bootz had, in fact, acquired the car by accident, after the Saoutchik-bodied Hispano he had ordered proved to be cursed with incurable wheel shimmy. The Lancia was offered by the concessionaire as an alternative, and it proved so capable that it stayed with him for a further 29 years.

The low ownership and beautiful patina make this one of the most charming prewar cars we've seen for some time, and luckily the Gast family aren't afraid to use it, so if you're lucky you may catch a glimpse of it yourself driving near Amsterdam this summer. In the meantime, you can read the full story of the Dilambda in the latest issue of The Automobile, which is out now.

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