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AutoArt 1:18 1972 Lancia Fulvia HF 1600 #2- Ballestrieri/Bernnachiini- Rally San Remo Winner

Reviewed by: Richard sufficool

The FWD Lancia Fulvia debuted in 1963 (the coupe in '65) and featured a nifty little slant V4 set at 45° with the banks separated by only 15°. With sidedraft carburators facing in the opposite direction, this engine was both a space-saver (making room for the transaxle) and a low profile setup. The coupe was put on the track virtually from its inception under Lancia's "HF" (high fidelity) motorsport logo. The original 1091ccs was bumped up to 1584cc and produced 160hp. Only 1280 of these 1.6L "fanalones" (big headlight) were built for homologation and were the cars to beat in WRC, hill climb and road racing in the late 60s and early 70s.

This particular model represents the '72 San Remo (or Sanremo) Rallye winner that was driven by Amilcare Ballestrieri and codriver Arnaldo Bernacchini and AUTOart really nailed this little euroterror. It's got the usual liquid smooth finish, brilliant graphics, tight shutlines, crystal clear glazing and overall attention to detail and scale. All the trim pieces are chromed.... no paint; no foil. The hood and deck fasteners are perfect little castings including the cotter pins. The single articulating trunk hinge is precise in operation locking in the open position. For me the nose of this multi-eyed insect is the star of the show. The headlamps are beautifully done without those locator pin "black holes", and the grill and Lancia badging is a delicate thing of beauty

The engine compartment is as busy as you'd think it would be. All the plumbing and wiring is there including clear fuel lines, battery cables and the brakelines extend all the way to the rear wheels where they are replicated in soft plastic from where they were suspended from the midpoint centerline all the way to the terminal ends of the solid rear axle. I guess the only downer in the engine bay is the rounded screening on the carb trumpets which are merely blobs with overscaled cross-hatching.

The interior has a lot of nice touches with full roll cage, racing seats with cast buckles for the cloth 4-point restraint system. The 2 spoke sport steering wheel is diecut metal. and, save for the chromed hardware, the interior is all black including carpeting. The gauge faces are vibrant and legible and the knobbs and levers are reasonably modeled with adequate paint detailing.

The trunk contains the obligatory spare with an oversized fuel tank built around it. The fuel line runs right over the spare so I assume a quick tire change wouldn't be in the offing.

If vintage european rally cars are something that excites you, you'll want one of these Lancias if only for their historic importance and this AUTOart model offers great bang for the midrange buck. Me? I'm just a sucker for rally cars that sport at least a half dozen headlamps as long as they're not aimed at me.

(03/18/2008)