Lancia Montecarlo

There were just 1940 of the series II Montecarlos ever made.

With a kerb weight of 970 kg and the 2.0 litre I4 engine, the performance for the day was excellent: with 118 bhp on tap, 0-60 would arrive in 8.4 seconds, and the handling was extremely precise. In fact, so good was the basic architecture that a variation of the car, the 037, would find success in world Rallying, and, less evolved, would campaign successfully in Group 5.

Just like pretty much every Italian car made of the era, these models are hugely susceptible to rust and electrical gremlins, but the most worrying aspect of the original Series I cars were their proneness to locking their front brakes in the wet. This was resolved in the second iteration, but like all rare temperamental Italian autombiles, these cars have dedicated fan clubs and are not often consigned to the scrap heap.

An orange treasure.