5. 1951 Pegaso Z-102 GT Berlinetta ENASA
Our first truly memorable encounter with this brand came through Autoworld’s brilliant Pegaso exhibition with 15 impressive specimens. Since then, we bumped into cars from this long-forgotten brand on a regular basis.
This is a big thing, as Pegasos are the unicorn of the classic car world (literally : ) ), as the Spanish company only produced less than 100 cars between 1951 and 1956. The model was the brainchild of Wifredo Ricart, who earned a reputation as chief engineer at Alfa Romeo. Each car was different, and the company approached several coachbuilders to vest the vehicle with their signature styling.
Although the steel blue Pegaso is our long-term sweetheart, we covered it so extensively in the past, that we decided to nominate the other Pegaso of the show. Yes, you heard that right: Days of Elegance featured two Pegasos.
The green ENASA was also present at Autoworld in 2019, but the podium prevented a good 360-degree photographic crossfire. We tried to catch up this time, though the car was parked under the bordering trees.
This Pegaso is also special, as it is credited to be based on the second car ever built. After the 1951 Paris Motor show, this prototype chassis 0102 and two other versions were brought back to Spain. In 1952, the cabriolet chassis of the prototype was converted into the current Berlinetta configuration. The final production car also got the upgraded 2.8-litre engine and was entered at various international Concours d’elegance events.
The car was finally sold in 1955 as new, adopting the actual identification 150-0201. After a busy life, the car underwent a thorough restoration in the 2000s and has been kept in a showroom-shine state ever since, in the spirit of the 1953 issue.
