Before Cotura: a Dutch Lancia Special from 1937

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A photograph recently surfaced in an old family album, very likely taken around 1937 in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. It shows a self-built sports or racing car — assembled from Lancia components. The car carries registration number H-49893, which at the time was registered in the name of C. van der Tuijn.
That name will ring a bell with anyone familiar with Dutch automotive pioneers. It almost certainly refers to Coos van der Tuijn (1906–1951), the man who would become known after the Second World War as the constructor of the COTURA sports cars. The photograph therefore immediately raises a fascinating question: are we looking at an early, until now unknown creation by Van der Tuijn himself?

The car shown in the photograph displays all the hallmarks of a typical 1930s special, while also sharing many similarities with the post-war Coturas.
The choice of Lancia components is telling. In the 1930s, Lancia was renowned for its technically advanced solutions, such as independent suspension and compact V-engines. This made the brand particularly popular among enthusiastic amateurs and engineers who wished to build their own competitive cars for speed trials, hill climbs and club racing.

That the car was registered in Van der Tuijn’s name makes the photograph all the more intriguing. His later COTURAs display the same spirit: individualistic, technically well thought-out, and built with limited means but great inventiveness. It is therefore highly plausible that this Lancia-based special was a pre-war experiment — a learning project through which Van der Tuijn developed his skills as a constructor.
To date, however, there is no hard documentation confirming that he was indeed the builder. He may simply have been the driver, or perhaps his later designs were inspired by this car. In his post-war cars, Van der Tuijn used BMW as a basis — possibly because those were more readily available?

This leads us to the question for our readers: can anyone shed more light on the background of the car shown, and on whether Van der Tuijn was indeed its constructor? Any additional information is most welcome.

Photo: Herman van Oldeneel

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