Back in the 1970s, almost every car manufacturer offered a large luxury saloon, and Lancia was no exception - the Ford Granada-sized Gamma was its luxury market offering.

Lancia, though, was a company with a bit more about it than just a plain old saloon, so in order to draw attention to itself the Gamma was also offered in slab-sided coupe form, complete with 2.5-litre fuel-injected Boxer engine and a wacky interior. 

The Gamma Coupé was both styled and assembled by Pininfarina, who built it under contract on the same line as the equally oddball Ferrari 400i. Sadly for Lancia, a combination of dreadful rust problems and poor reliability from the 2.5-litre Boxer engine meant that the Gamma’s honeymoon was short-lived, and today survivors are extremely rare, especially in unrestored condition. 

From 1982 onwards, Bosch fuel injection was fitted and the revised engine internals included larger diameter valve stems, revised pistons and camshaft profiles, while the cambelt failure issues that affected earlier cars were cured. Its 140bhp output remained the same. 

This is one such Series 2 version, recently imported to the UK from South Africa where it has lived in the Northern Cape Province for most of its life – a dry and barren climate that has been astonishingly kind to its notoriously fragile metal. 

Tipped by TV star James May as one of the top 10 cars to invest in for future potential, this one is a real gem. 

South African spec Lancia Gamma Coupes 2 were imported to Johannesburg, by TAK MOTORS between 1981 and 1985, making this one of the last Gammas to arrive there. At the time, the now defunct TAK was the Ferrari, Maserati and Lancia Main Dealer in the Transvaal. This car was registered in 1985 and appears to have had just one previous owner since.

It arrived in the UK earlier this year and is being sold with all import duties paid and declarations complete. 

The Lancia comes with the NOVA documents completed and all official import papers concluded.

There is also a copy of the South African registration document and a few minor documents. 

The vendor specialises in importing vehicles from South Africa having lived there for many years, and knows the import process inside-out. The cars he brings in are sourced via classic car contacts he has in ZA and are imported with all port notifications complete. 

The car will also come with a new UK MOT, meaning that all that’s left is to complete an application for first registration – something the owner is happy to help with and which is a very straightforward process. 

You can thank the engine designer, Francesco De Virgilio, for the wonderful rakish appearance of the Lancia Gamma coupe 2500ie, which was one of the most striking designs of the 1970s.

It was De Virgilio who argued against Lancia’s case for making its flagship model a V6, insisting instead that he could give the car just as much character and performance by developing a large capacity four-cylinder flat-four Boxer engine for the car, allowing Pininfarina’s chief stylist, Aldo Brovarone, to translate the car from sketch to metal with little in the way of compromise.

The result was a modern-looking square design with a low bonnet and steeply raked windscreen, which was inarguably handsome.

And it still is today – at least on the handful of cars that have survived the rampant corrosion for which Lancia became known in the 1970s and 1980s. 

This one is incredible – an astonishing, original survivor with its factory metallic blue paint. There are the usual small creases in the bonnet thanks to the Gamma’s annoyingly imperfect bonnet latch design, but the rest of the panels are straight and true and there’s only a tiny amount of sun deterioration to the roof. 

The lamp lenses and trim are also in good order. At the time of our photo shoot, the Gamma was missing an exhaust hanger hence why the tailpipe sits low in the pictures. This will be rectified before the car is sold on. 

Underneath, it appears solid with no signs of ever being welded. 

The interior of a Gamma Coupe is a very special place indeed, stylish in a way that only the Italians could muster. From the oddball dash and steering wheel to the delicate oval pedals, everything has an element of design to it.

But it’s the seats that really steal the show. Finished in blue velour, the fabric features an ‘L’ for Lancia logo embossed into the fabric, with matching velour door trim. The downsode is that they never really wore very well and there are a couple of snags in the fabric of this one, but nothing too drastic or impossible to put right. 

The cabin is in good overall condition otherwise, with no major problems. The air conditioning appears to work, as does the radio. 

The 2.5-litre flat-four has covered 101,584km, which equates to around 63,000 miles. 

It has just had a full service, with fresh fluids and filters throughout.

It starts on the button, maintaining a steady idle and temperature, with a delicious warble at idle thanks to that horizontally opposed ‘Boxer’ layout.

All of the gears engage smoothly and the steering and brakes both feel tight. The car had only just arrived in the UK at the time of our photos but the vendor is going to give it a proper shakedown run once it has been for an MOT test. 

This is a great-looking example of an astonishingly rare car – one that is guaranteed to be a safe investment for the future and even has celebrity endorsement behind it. 

Coming from a bone-dry climate, it should be as solid as an old Lancia can possibly get and is smartly presented ready for its next owner. It’s an incredible-looking thing, and a terrific opportunity to acquire a very rare car indeed.