1930 ANSALDO 15 GS BERLINA LOTTI

Lot 23
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Estimation :
40000 - 60000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 58 180EUR
1930 ANSALDO 15 GS BERLINA LOTTI
° FFVE certificate Chassis n°151001 Short-lived and sought-after brand Noble and powerful engine Exceptional and unique Lotti bodywork Fresh car on the market and in concours d’élégance Unique opportunity to acquire a monument of the Italian car industry Until the 1920s, the Ansaldo factory in Turin specialised in heavy industry, particularly in the manufacture of artillery equipment, aircraft and aeronautical engines. Hence the brand’s logo, made like Hotchkiss in France, of two crossed cannons. Like many companies that had developed in response to the war effort during the First World War, Ansaldo looked for new outlets to continue to feed its production lines. Like Citroën and many other manufacturers, the firm opted for the booming automobile industry. This is how the A4 came into being at the end of 1919. Its 1.8-litre 4-cylinder engine with overhead camshaft proved to be powerful, but the car was heavy and the 3-speed gearbox did not help. Not to mention the Italian economic and political crisis... and the bankruptcy of the bank that owned most of the brand’s shares. In short, the marketing of the A4 was a failure. In 1923, the improved A4 became the 4C, seconded in the range by the 6A, a novelty with a 2-litre 6-cylinder engine. These were soon joined by the sporty 4CS and 6AS versions, with more advanced engines and accessories such as wire wheels. The brand then struggled to renew itself, and it was not the popular Type 10, 14 and 15, built on very utilitarian chassis, that helped its finances. The last heroic effort was the introduction in 1928 of the 15 GS, which, with a new and sublime double overhead camshaft cylinder head, allowed the in-house 4-cylinder engine to develop 60 hp.  The next two models, the Type 2 8-cylinder and Type 18 6-cylinder, were released in the midst of the 1929 crisis and ended up pushing the Turin firm towards inevitable bankruptcy... The car we are presenting, from the unmissable Anna-Lisa collection, is exceptional in many ways. First of all, it is one of the very few survivors of this confidential brand, and one of the even rarer 15 GS still in existence. With its double overhead camshaft engine worthy of the best productions of the time, our 15 GS sports car was also lucky enough to receive a sublime light bodywork by Lotti. If this Florentine coachbuilder is not well known today, he was one of the regular “dressers” of Ansaldo and Nazzaro chassis and - above all - the inventor of a light body on steel frame (no more traditional wood frame), a mix of the much later Weymann and Superleggera Touring processes. According to a letter dated 1991 from Carrozzeria Lotti, this car is unique... Restored at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s (invoices from Lecoq for the bodywork!), this exceptional car was also entered in the highly sought-after Louis Vuitton Concours d’élégance – Automobiles Classiques, in 1991, at Bagatelle. Never seen since, and requiring an easy restart, this Lotti Tipo 15 GS light sedan is just waiting to be driven and presented in the most beautiful classic events, where it will not fail to attract the attention of the most discerning connoisseurs.
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