Rare 1956 Pegaso Z-103 Touring Panoramica Coupe

A very rare 1956 Pegaso Z-102/Z-103 Touring Panoramica Coupe leaving the 2023 San Marino Motor Classic at Lacy Park and being loaded into a transporter. This car, chassis no. 72, is one of three Z-103s built, two of which received Panoramica Coupe bodywork by Carrozzeria Touring. Originally displayed at the 1956 Turin Auto Show and Paris Auto Salon, it has a factory-issued Z-103 chassis tag despite being powered by a 3.2-liter quad-cam V8 engine from the Z-102. The car has been owned by the same family in California for over 50 years and underwent a complete restoration in the 1990s. In 2000, it was displayed at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pegaso. It was also displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1994, 2012, and 2023 and has received over a hundred awards.

One of the reasons the San Marino Motor Classic was moved to August beginning in 2021 was to attract cars fresh off the Pebble Beach lawn. That plan definitely worked. I had never seen a Pegaso before and haven't had the privilege of going to Monterey for Car Week, but since Pegaso was a featured marque at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours with several examples in attendance, I knew the following weekend's San Marino festivities would be my best bet at ever crossing paths with one. Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket, too.

European sports cars and GT cars of the '50s and '60s are among today's most coveted automobiles, and it's great to see a rare Spanish entrant in this prestigious class. It's unfortunate that Pegaso's sports car venture was short-lived with so few vehicles built. (For those who don't know, the company was better known as a builder of industrial trucks and remained in business until the 1990s.) But even for those of us who are blessed to have already seen all the better-known contemporary sports cars from Italian, German, and British automakers, catching a Pegaso is definitely a welcome surprise and one that might not come again for a long time.

Would you choose this rare Pegaso over better-known contemporary European sports cars? Leave a comment on YouTube and let me know!