Highlights Resprayed in dark blue Reconditioned engine Excellent condition underneath Refurbished cylinder head Soft top roof replaced Overview Sometimes Italian sportscars of a certain vintage are viewed as being slightly too water-soluble.

So what do you do when you live in the UK but can’t resist the temptation of a two-door Lancia? Well, you import one from a dry climate of course.

And that’s just what happened to the Beta we see here.

It spent most of its life in South Africa, before coming to the UK in 2023.

The Zagato version of the Lancia Beta was built by both Lancia and Zagato — having been designed by Pininfarina — in an astonishingly and unsurprisingly inefficient process, which involved shuttling the cars between factories after pretty much every stage of the construction process.

Restoration work was carried out in South Africa, with a respray in dark blue and a refurbished engine being fitted.

Further mechanical work replaced most of the braking system and rebuilt ...