Lancia Special Historic Racer

   
The motor racing scene in both West and East Germany after the war would be dominated by home-built race cars called Eigenbaus (translation home built). They were built with whatever materials these privateer builders could find. Those post-war racers were a creative bunch. Never satisfied with what factories provided, they always seemed to have an itch to scratch. Could they build a better race car using the best parts available and cloaking it in a lightweight aluminum (and sometimes fiberglass) body? The answer more often than not is yes they could. Our most recent acquisition has been a mystery racer featured in Veloce Today"s July 7, 2010 issue. Much of the information we have today comes from the previous owner and the Veloce Today article. Hans Fischhaber built the Lancia powered racer to compete in the German Championships in 1953.  Fischhaber selected an 1100cc Lancia engine and gearbox from (most likely) the Aprillia.There would be other more powerful Lancia-powered Eigenbau Specials including one driven by Mauritz von Strachwitz but he lost his driver"s license just before the race! When you study the photos, you can see the expert level of engineering Fischhaber used in building the car. It is apparent that he made every effort to make the car as light as possible, drilling holes throughout including the pedal box. The body is aluminum with a light coat of fiberglass. The steering wheel, headlamps and fasteners were sourced at German manufacturers. The race was was lost when Fischhaber wrecked the Lancia-Eigenbau on July 12, 1953 during the second round. Although it was banged up badly, it wasn"t scrapped. History isn"t clear what other races the 1100cc Lancia-Eigenbau competed. There are records of Hans Fischhaber racing a Lancia-Eigenbau at the Hillclimb Schauinsland 1953 and the Rheinland-Pfalz Preis Nürburgring in 1954.  What we do know is that, eventually, it was converted to road use and remains configured as such to this day. That conversion required fitting a modified nose and a windscreen from an MGA. The Fischhaber Lancia-Eigenbau Special deserves restoration as a tribute to the brave racers who were bold enough to compete against the factory juggernauts.
Call Daniel in the US at (203) 778-2601 or Michael at (203) 917-2354.