Chassis No. B24S-1655
Engine No. 1788
The Lancia Aurelia B24 S Convertible, built from 1955 to 1958, was the open-top Pininfarina-styled version of the Aurelia, a car that helped define post-war grand touring. It evolved from the 1954 B24 Spider America, a more spartan, stripped-down sports car that would gain meaningfully more luxurious appointments upon its transformation into the B24 Convertible model. Beneath its elegant bodywork sat a 2.5-liter V6 derived from the first V6 engine ever fitted to a production car, an engineering landmark for Lancia. Light, balanced, and refined, the B24 S Convertible paired sports car handling with real civility.
This late-production, sixth-series Aurelia B24 S Convertible is a U.S.-market left-hand-drive example, as confirmed by its Stellantis Production Data certificate. Produced on 5 August 1958, it is among the final examples of the 521 total Aurelia B24 S Convertibles produced, of which only 371 were the final sixth-series versions such as this car, incorporating the full range of production updates and improvements iterated through the Aurelia's development.
Originally delivered to the United States in Grey over Red leather, this Aurelia's earliest ownership history has been lost to the sands of time, a subject for additional research and discovery. Its trail picks up in the late 1990s, when it was owned by Dick Reichek of Coconut Grove, Florida, a Lancia enthusiast who also proudly owned and rallied an Aurelia B20 Coupe. Through a friendship forged at the California Mille, the founder of that event, Martin Swig, would acquire the Aurelia Convertible from Reichek, and it would then relocate to Northern California, where it became part of the Swig Collection. Broad Arrow Car Specialist David Swig fondly recalls driving the car on the New Year's Day Anti-Football Run sometime around 2002. Shortly thereafter, in the early 2000s, Martin Swig would sell the Lancia to his close friend and fellow Sausalito, California, resident, the vaunted restaurateur Larry Mindel, founder of the Il Fornaio chain of Italian restaurants.
Its acquisition by Mindel would kick off a long-term ownership spanning roughly 23 years, during which time the Mindel family added some 10,000 miles to its odometer, enjoying the Lancia regularly on weekend drives and on longer rallies such as the California Mille. A cosmetic restoration was undertaken, with Brian Hoyt's Perfect Reflections entrusted to paint the car in its current dark blue livery in 2004, and Franzini Brothers of San Rafael redoing the upholstery in the current red leather in 2006. A considerable file of receipts with the car documents regular maintenance, restorative works, and care spanning the 2004–2019 period, with work performed by notable Bay Area Italian car specialists including Conrad Stevenson, Valtellina Automobili, and Larry Buskirk. Most recently, in October 2026, the Lancia received maintenance and service work performed by The Fast Toys Specialist in Los Angeles, including a brake adjustment and fluid bleed, carburetor refurbishment and adjustment, among other minor service items following its past few years of relatively limited use.
Today, this attractive B24 S Convertible presents as a nicely mellowed yet still sharp restoration in an ideal condition in which to enjoy the numerous vintage rallies it is eminently eligible for. It is strongly believed to retain its original, matching-numbers engine-its Stellantis Production Data certificate does not list an engine number-but its engine number 1788 falls correctly in line with other known matching-numbers examples. Both cylinder heads match the block. Its factory spare and jack are found in the trunk, while up front it is fitted with an attractive pair of period Marchal driving lights. Offered with its Stellantis Production Data certificate and the aforementioned large file of invoices spanning the Mindel family's ownership, and fresh from its recent service, this is a particularly compelling Aurelia and one which exemplifies the very Italian concept of gran turismo.
Please note this vehicle is titled as Model Year 1957
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- VIN CodeB24S-1655
