Lincoln Small first heard about his Triumph Italia in 2012. 'It belonged to a resident of Monte Carlo, but the car was in Milan,' he says. 'For me, the Italia marries beauty with simplicity and that is what fascinated me. It was advertised on eBay as a wreck. I put in a bid but then the price started to climb. I managed to find a phone number for the chap who was selling it and called him. It turned out that it was between me and another bidder. I told him to give me a price and we agreed terms after he sent me something like 300 photos.
The car had apparently been owned for most of its life by an Alitalia pilot who parked it in an underground garage and forgot about it for 30 years. Another guy then bought it but he just left it there. I did a deal whereby the car was delivered to my friend Marco Gandino, who runs Classic Mania Garage in Ovada, near Genoa. He spent the next three years restoring it. 'The car was in a terrible state when I got it, but it was 95% complete, and the TR Register was very helpful,' he continues. I just love looking at it. There are hints of Maserati 3500GT, Lancia Appia; all sorts of things. I cannot get enough of the detailing. The dashboard is exquisite, as are the badges. The rear script alone is fantastic. It's a work of art. The Italia is a strange car to drive, though. By that, I mean you look at it and expect it to be quite revvy, like a four-cylinder Alfa or a Lancia, but it isn't. You have this glorified tractor motor, but it's so torquey. It just pulls and pulls. It's fantastic.' (Image: Charlie Magee)
Information: Richard Heseltine