Chassis No. 812.01-2531
Engine No. 814.00 2530

Lancia's Appia replaced its Ardea as their primary small family car offering, unveiled to the public at the 1953 Torino Motor Show. The model featured numerous Lancia technical hallmarks, including sliding pillar front suspension and a jewel of a V4 engine displacing 1,090-cc. While the vast majority of Appias produced were the standard saloon variants, some were bodied as commercial vehicles, while another group of chassis were supplied to coachbuilders for the fitment of more sporting custom bodywork, these jobs entrusted primarily to Vignale, Pininfarina, and Zagato who all left their mark on the Appia's underpinnings.

The most attractive versions were the Coupes bodied by Zagato, which were offered in three distinct series with numerous small variations. Among these, the early “covered headlight” GTE models truly stand out—later versions modified the front end to eliminate the headlight covers. Certainly fewer than 200 of these early covered headlight body cars were produced. Approximately 35 of these were ordered new by Max Hoffman's Hoffman Motor Company in New York, including the subject car. When new, these diminutive little cars retailed for around $4,875—considerably more than a new Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce, and nearly half the cost of a new 300 SL Roadster!

This delightful example of Lancia's covered-headlight Zagato-bodied Appia GTE Coupe is a U.S.-market example boasting a very good quality older restoration and benefiting from significant recent specialist attention. The Lancia Appia Zagato Register records that it is one of a batch of cars produced in February 1959 and ordered by Hoffman Motor Company. Though its specific early U.S. history has yet to be fully researched and discovered, eventually the little Zagato coupe landed overseas with a collector in Australia. There, it would be discovered and acquired by Italian car aficionado and California Mille founder Martin Swig in the early 2000s, with aspirations of leaving it “down under” for a few years and driving it in the annual Melbourne Mille.

After some cosmetic and mechanical preparation, Swig ran the car on the Melbourne Mille on at least one occasion and then brought the Appia Zagato back to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2005. Residing in the Swig collection over the past two plus decades, the Appia has been used—albeit sparingly—in numerous events and shared garage space with a brace of other special Lancias, Alfa Romeos, and Fiats.

Most recently, in 2024, David and Howard Swig entrusted the Appia Zagato to Raffi Najjarian's Pit Stop Automotive in Brisbane, California, to freshen it mechanically for continued road use. A thorough mechanical revival was undertaken at a cost of over $22,000, including a complete brake overhaul, rebuilt wheel cylinders, new water pump, valve adjustment, and much more. The fuel system was addressed with a rebuilt carburetor and mechanical fuel pump, while the tank was removed and properly cleaned out. A range of other maintenance needs were addressed, and the Appia has been enjoyed on several spirited test drives since completion. Today, this delightful, jewel-like Lancia is a testament to the marque's engineering prowess, and its timeless lines penned by Zagato evoke considerably more exotic Italian thoroughbreds.