About Lancia, Ghia, De Tomaso, Ford, Ferrari and Fiat
While the 2024 Geneva Motor Show is in full swing, the 1969 edition lives on on the A4 near Hoofddorp. This Lancia HF Competitione was unveiled at the Swiss car show and has always remained unique, but it still drives around in the Netherlands!
A classic, exotic sports car is always a fun spot, but a 55-year-old concept car takes that basic recipe to a considerably higher level. This is the Lancia HF Competizione, a concept car that was shown in Geneva in 1969. At the time, the car was not just a finger exercise, but an important part of a plan to help Lancia find a new owner.
The then independent Italian brand was in dire straits and according to legend it was none other than Alejandro De Tomaso who saw a good solution. De Tomaso was the owner of coachbuilder Ghia at the time and wanted to convince Ford to buy Lancia with this spectacular sports car. According to the same stories, that attempt was not completely free of opportunism, because De Tomaso hoped to become the head of Lancia within Ford itself and wanted to boost the Italian brand into a true Ferrari competitor. In that respect, he probably could not have attracted a better party, because Ford often had conflicts with Ferrari in the 1960s. However, Fiat got wind of this scheme and quickly stole Lancia from under Ford’s nose. The rest is history. Lancia experienced glorious and lesser periods under Fiat and is now undergoing a true resurrection under the Stellantis group, to which Fiat now also belongs.
The HF Competizione when it was new, with extended spoiler.
The Lancia HF Competizione was designed by the famous Tom Tjaarda and is a GT-like car, but also a sports car that must be suitable for track use. The fact that aerodynamics played an important role in Tom Tjaarda’s design can be seen from the folding headlights and the extendable rear spoiler. That spoiler was neatly folded this morning when the unique Lancia sped along the A4 under the radiant winter sun. Our own Willem Verstraten is used to this area, but was surprised when he saw this classic concept car appearing in the lease tin.
The car still has an old English license plate, but a Dutch dealer’s license plate is stuck to the almost horizontal rear window. The Amsterdam RDW inspection station is not far from this location, so it may soon have a real Dutch license plate on it. That is a more than nice addition to our country, because this car is a gem from the eventful history of the illustrious Lancia due to its appearance and the accompanying story.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl