Thornley Kelham revealed its restomod Lancia Aurelia “Outlaw” European CSL. Just three of the cars will be made and they are an even higher-performance version of the restomod Aurelia program that was previously announced. The car is powered by a 300 hp “Busso” 3.2-liter V6 complete with fully mapped fuel injection, ported, polished, and balanced cylinder heads, and a five-speed transaxle. Previous iterations of the Aurelia “Outlaw” had to make do with 220 hp, while the original Aurelia made a humble 118 hp.
Thornley Kelham has modified the Aurelia
to handle the extra power and says it has been tuned to “fast road”
specifications. The tuner says it is still very much inspired by the original
Aurelia’s nimble road rally personality but is more in line with modern
expectations. That means modern disc brakes, a modern pedal box, rack and
pinion steering with optional power assistance, a limited-slip differential,
and fully revised front and rear suspensions, as well as a full roll cage.
Despite all that, restomodded Aurelia still only weighs around 1,100 kg.
The car closely resembles Aurelia chassis
number 1010, which was modified by privateer racer Giovanni Bracco. Bracco took
his Aurelia to the Mille Miglia in 1951 and came in second. He later raced at
Le Mans, where he won first in class, the Pescara six-hour, where he won, the
Caracalla Night Race, which he also won, and the 1951 Carrera Panamericana. It
was discovered that the racer had lowered the car’s roof to improve its
aerodynamics, something Thornley Kelham seeks to recreate here albeit with
aluminum panels that cut 75 kg.
Finally, the interior of the Aurelia
“Outlaw” European CSL is revitalized with full Connolly leather, air
conditioning, a variety of front seat options, Alcantara headlining, and a
wood-rimmed competition steering wheel. In all, the tuner spent more than 5,000
hours taking a “basket-case” Aurelia and turning into what you see here. No
pricing has been disclosed, but we’re willing to bet it will carry a hefty tag.
