PAST IMPERFECT:Pegaso's sports models enjoyed a positive reception – but their success was short-lived
WILFREDO PELAYO Ricart y Medina Sr, born in 1897 in Barcelona, was a true renaissance man.
From an upper-class Barcelona family, he was interested in things mechanical from an early age and by the time he was in his teens he could speak five languages. He became an outstanding engineer and by the age of 23 he owned an engine manufacturing concern.
In 1936 he moved to Milan to take up a post as engineering consultant to Alfa Romeo. There he assembled a close-knit team of engineers with whom he produced a series of technically advanced mid-engined single-seaters as well as several front-engined coupés. The majority of the closed coupés featured streamlined coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring, the famous Milan design house. When Italy entered the war, Ricart turned his attention to designing Alfa Romeo engines for aircraft.
His contract with Alfa Romeo ended in 1945 and Ricart returned to Spain where he was employed by Enasa to help re-build Spain’s motor industry, which had been devastated by the Spanish Civil War. By the late 1940s, considerable progress had been made in this regard, and Ricart turned his attention to producing a car that would be a showcase for the Spanish motor industry.
Work on the new car, the Pegaso Z-102, began in October 1950 and it was first shown at the 1951 Paris Motor Show where it generated considerable excitement. But something was wrong. Motoring magazine after motoring magazine devoted pages to describing the car’s advanced mechanicals, which made it one of the most sophisticated offerings, from any car manufacturer of the 1950s. But not one mentioned the car’s coachwork or its looks.
To address this shortfall, Ricart turned to his old colleagues in Carrozzeria Touring for help. A Z-102 chassis was sent to Touring and they responded with a design that reflected Spain, referencing a Spanish fighting bull for styling cues. The result, the Touring Pegaso, was debuted at the 1952 Paris Motor Show, where it created widespread excitement, the Autocar describing it as being among “the Show’s most spectacular exhibits”.
The following year, a special version of the Z-102 was created, reputedly intended as a present for Eva Peron – which was given the name Thrill.
This two-tone design made its debut at the Turin Motor Show, where its reception was sensational. Similar responses occurred in Barcelona and in Italy at September’s Stresa Concorso d’Eleganza. But then, with the world at it’s feet, the Pegaso Thrill, like Pegaso’s other sports car offering, simply faded away.
In all, just 84 Pegasos were built, arguably the finest and most exciting Grand Turismo cars of their era.