My Lancia Aurelia 1954.

“I'm still learning how to drive it because it's not as easy to drive as my Yaris,” Aurelia says of her Lancia.

It has been in the making for just over 21 years, while the Lancia Aurelia has been in the making for about 20 years. They met late last year when an Italian classic was a surprise 21st birthday present from Aurelia's parents Harry and Monique Connelly.

The saga began in 1990 when friend and car restorer Wolf Grodd of The Sleeping Beauties heard that Connelly had christened his daughter Aurelia, after the famous Italian rally and racing car.

“I had no idea what the car was or what it looked like, but I heard it was a rally car,” says Connelly, a former driver who helped run the World Rally Championship rounds for Australia and was honored in the Royal Race. 2009. List of honorary titles for services to motorsport.

"Wulf said we should buy one and give Aurelia for her 21st birthday," he said.

The car came from England and was found in a junkyard in Woy Woy in 1990. Connelly paid $10,000 for the rusty hull. After 20 years of restoration in Sleeping Beauties, it is now insured for $140,000. Aurelia didn't know about the car until she was five years old.

“Then they hid him from me until my birthday,” she says. "I didn't forget about it, but I didn't know it would be my 21st gift."

The B20 Aurelia has a 2.5-liter pushrod alloy V6 engine, a twin-line downdraft Weber carburetor, drum brakes (internal at the rear), a four-speed column shift H-type transmission and is capable of speeds up to 200 km/h.

"I'm still learning how to drive it because it's not easy to drive like my Yaris," she says. "It's going like hell, but it doesn't stop that well."

Lancia was produced from 1950 to 58 and participated in famous rallies and races such as Monte Carlo, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Le Mans. In 1954 they cost 4200 ($6550) in Australia, while a Rolls-Royce cost 5000 ($7800). The restoration may have been a long process, but it was painstaking and required many handcrafted parts such as the trunk and dashboard.

“They did a little bit every year, and the rest of the time it was sitting in the back of their garage,” says Connelly. "It's amazing; you can still get parts from England, Italy and even Australia."

Aurelia says she will showcase the car at classic car shows and attend Lancia Club events.

“I am very interested in motorsport and have participated in world rallies and Formula 1 competitions for as long as I can remember. But I'm more about organizing than competing,” says an MA student in organizational psychology who ran a WRC stage media center in northern New South Wales in 2009.

Connelly is Chairman of the FIA ​​Stewards and attends seven F1 events a year. He is also a member of the FIA ​​Institute for Safety Research in Motorsport. He retired from the WRC at the end of 2009.

1954 LAUNCHES AURELIA

Year: 1954

Price new: $4200 ($6550)

Price now: insured for $140,000

ENGINES: 104 kW, 2.5-liter V6

Chassis: 2-door coupe

Trance: 4-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive.

Did you know: Lancia Aurelia introduced a front-engine, rear-drive configuration later used by Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, GM, and Maserati, as well as a V6 engine.