1955 Pagaso Berlinetta Model Z-102
| April 11, 2008
This is a very rare 1955 Pegaso Berlinetta, manufactured in Spain. Only 125 Pegasos were ever built.
Pegaso Automobiles, named after the flying horse Pegasus, were built in Madrid by the state-owned ANASA firm that chiefly built trucks and buses for the country. During the 1950s top political leaders in Spain wanted to compete on the international stage, along with cars such as Ferrari, Mercedes, and Jaguar. Thus the short-lived Pegaso sports car was born.
This car has one-off coachwork by Saoutchik of Paris. The double overhead camshaft V8 has four carburetors, and the 5-speed transmission, which is part of the rear trans-axel assembly. The front suspension is independent. The engine creates 170 horsepower.
The cars, even with their very high prices (such as $17,000 for this example) were a financial failure. Likewise the racing program never really got off the ground – no pun intended.