COMMISSIONING A SPECIAL ASTURA The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, generally conceded to be the world’s most prestigious judged car exhibition, has been staged 71 times, suggesting that there are only 71 cars in the world that have nabbed the event’s coveted Best of Show award.

In most cases, these cars are tightly cosseted within top-shelf collections, some of them rarely surfacing for public viewing.

It is a fairly unusual occurrence for one to become publicly available, but the featured Lancia affords precisely that opportunity.

At the 1931 Paris Salon, Lancia unveiled a new two-model line-up led by the single-overhead-cam V-8 powered Astura, which was the successor to the outgoing Lambda model.

The Astura was built in four series through 1939, the third of which was offered in two different wheelbase lengths and introduced a more highly developed engine with an increased displacement of nearly three liters.

The model continued Lancia’s well-earned reputation for advanced eng...