100 ANNI DI STILE LANCIA

100 years of Lancia style

Eli Solomon

The original sketch by Count Biscaretti of Ruffia with proposals for the Lancia trademark – the second one on the first row was eventually chosen

Yes, Lancia is 100 years old this year (DoB 29th November 1906) and still exists as an automobile manufacturer, albeit under the Fiat empire. Purists would say that thirty-seven years ago the marque ceased to exist after the Fiat take-over and yet it continued, pillaging from the Fiat parts bin to create cars such as the Beta, Gamma, Delta, Dedra and Thema and the modern variants that run on Punto platforms such as the Ypsilon.

Lancisti have been asking the same question for the last 30 years. Is the company's latest production a real Lancia? This author asked that very question in the late 80s when he purchased his first Lancia, a Montecarlo Series 2 Spyder.

The author’s first Lancia was a Series 2 Montecarlo in Singapore. The Series 2 cars incorporated a new corporate grille with a number of significant changes after the disaster of Series 1 model. The left photo shows rally ace Sandro Munari by a Series 1 Montecarlo while the right photo is of the author's second Montecarlo, a Series 1 Spyder in Hong Kong. The Series 2 cars were different in several respects. Superficially the front grille treatment was the most distinct difference (aside from wheel diameter) with the Series 2 cars dropping anything associated with the Beta in terms of advertising.  

The Lancisti would agree that the marque inspires not just interest but passion and sometimes even diffident incomprehension when it comes to styling and use of materials. The Montecarlo generated that sort of interest, as does the Ypsilon today. 

This article traces the four phases of Lancia’s history, from the time Vincenzo raced a Fiat to the introduction of the then unconventional load bearing structure, the tight V-engine and independent rear suspension Lambda, to the Gianni Lancia era of the lovely Aurelia and Aurelia GT, to the Carlo Pesenti era of the front-drive Fulvia, Flavia and Flaminia, and finally to the Fiat take-over and the emergence of the ground-pounding Delta and the embarrassing yet delightful Beta range. Most tend to have written off Lancia post Fiat take-over but there were flashes of brilliance as well - the Stratos (arguably not a Lancia at all), the Montecarlo (the X1/8 and X1/20 prototype designations confining it to purgatory as a Fiat-derivative) and even the use of supercharging in the Beta-derived Volumex were typically Lancia – not afraid to try something different. Even the Thema 8.32 was different - with a Ferrari 308 QV engine assembled by Ducati, it used a V8 split-plane crank instead of the flat plane used in Ferrari cars.

The Marcelo Gandini-designed Lancia Stratos in Alitalia rally trim

PART 1: LANCIA – PRE-1970

Vincenzo Lancia

Vincenzo Lancia was born in Fobello on 24th August 1881 in and on 29th November 1906, formed Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili together with friend and colleague Claudio Fogolin. Lancia and Fogilin had been test drivers at Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (F.I.A.T) and set up their facilities at the old Itala factory in the Via Ormeo in Turin.

The first Lancia prototype was completed in September 1907, debuting at the Turin Show early the following year as a Locati and Torretta coach built model of 18-24 HP of either a double-phaeton or a landaulet. Both models came with a window between the front and rear seats, a throwback to the horse-drawn carriage era. Lancia adopted the Greek alphabet as names for his models in 1919 although he adopted these retrospectively with the Alpha. After the Great War, Lancia revolutionized the automobile with a patent (set out in 1919) to build a car with no separate chassis. The Lambda prototype arrived in 1921, the first car with unitary construction! The production model of 1922 had several revolutionary features aside from the load bearing body such as a tight V-engine and independent rear suspension. Commercial considerations meant a retrogressive step back to a separate chassis with subsequent models such as the DiLambda (1929) and the Artena and Astura (1931), only returning to unitary construction with the Augusta of 1935.

The Alpha Corse of 1910 – Vincenzo’s final sporting appearance at Modena

Gianni Lancia

Vincenzo Lancia died in February 1937, shortly before the Aprilia went into production, and his son Gianni took over to start what this author would call the second phase of Lancia history. Vincenzo’s Aprilia was to be another milestone for Lancia, the little car having undergone aerodynamic tests (another first) at the Turin Polytechnic. The Ardea soon followed, albeit on a shorter floor pan and a less noticeable curve in the tail.

The aerodynamic Aprilla, Vincenzo’s final creation with integral construction, inboard rear brakes, IRS and sliding pillar front suspension, pillar less bodywork and dry weight of just 16cwt

Post WWII Lancia

Lancia’s first model after WWII was the Aurelia saloon and this too was laden with innovation – from the world’s first V6 engine to the fully enclosed body shape. The Aurelia evolved into successful versions – a GT Coupe B20 and eventually the very desirable B24 Spider, both penned by Pininfarina. Stylistically the Aurelia and Appia were the last to incorporate the traditional Lancia radiator grille with subsequent models displaying a horizontal cowl incorporated into the bonnet, which was slightly inclined forward.

Carlo Pesenti and Italcementi

Lancia's cantered over and very narrow-angled V4 on display in Kuala Lumpur, March 2008. The sweet 1.3 litre in Rally Sport tune with twin Solex carburetors was able to hold a consistent 120 mph on a previous trip to Sepang from Singapore. 

Luxury sedans were something Lancia had seemed to be striving towards and the Flaminia filled the slot that had been vacated by the pre-war DiLambda. The Flaminia thus ended the second stylistic cycle of Lancia and the Flavia (1960) and Fulvia(1963) ushered in the Carlo Pesenti era from 1956, box-cart Italian sedan styling with little personality. Fortunately the more sporting coupes (the author’s personal favorites being the 2000 Coupe) were much more pleasing to the eye. The Fulvia of 1963 also saw the formation of Lancia Corse, the works racing department. The High Fidelity Club (HiFi Club) had been established in 1959 for customers who had a high fidelity to the marque but when the Corse was formed, the works cars would carry this HiFi designation.

The author’s Lancia Fulvia Rallye Sport at the Kinrara Sprint of 2008

The Lancia Fulvia Rallye Sport at the Kinrara Sprint of 2008

The same car at the Kuala Lumpur Vintage & Classic Car concours held at Dataran Merdeka and Putrajaya in March 2008

JPG

PART 2: LANCIA – BEYOND 1970

Autocar 1977 showing Lancia's range of sporting coupes - the Beta and Series 1 Beta Montecarlo

A Series 2 Montecarlo at the Old Upper Thomson Road race circuit. This photo was taken in the early 1990s

A rare article on the Lancia Montecarlo in a Singapore magazine. This one was featured in the Singapore Automobile Association's Highway Magazine and written by the author.

A Fiat with mascara

Fiat had already stepped in to buy out cement magnate Carlo Pesenti's (1907-1984) stake in October 1968 (Ford had shown interest as well) and thus began the fourth phase of Lancia history. The Beta range featured a number of very revolutionary ideas - from rear suspension design to mechanically driven superchargers (for the Volumex). By the time the Montecarlo and Gamma had arrived Fiat had a pretty strong influence on design as well as use of components and overall platform.

A Series 1 Montecarlo in Hong Kong with Fiat-derived twin cam

The Delta shared the Ritmo and Strada floor pans, but was still voted Car of the Year in 1980. The Thema followed the same game plan - to either develop jointly with other car manufacturers or use a Fiat floor pan. In the case of the Thema, it was a joint program with Saab, Fiat and Alfa. Lost amongst all of this was the Trevi, a non-descript sedan with a dashboard designed by architect Bellini that would have been more at home in a Citroen DS.

It was only in 1970 that Lancia resumed the use of the Greek alphabet in the naming of its cars but with Alfa Romeo already around, the first of the new series was the Beta, powered by a modified version of the Lampredi twin cam engine, which would adorn the Montecarlo in 2-litre guise as well.

Lancia have continued using Greek in naming the cars – the modern generation being the Kappa, Zeta and Ypsilon in the 1990s, then the Musa, Thesis, Libra, Libra SW and the Phedra.

Lancia turns 100 in November 2006, nothing like it was when the last HF Fulvia left the factory at Chivasso in the 1970s, and far from anything like it was during tin-rot of the Beta period.

Present day Lancia

So what does Lancia stand for now? The top brass at Fiat know they have a big portfolio of sporting brands – Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat with strong rallying history. Does Lancia fit in at all, aside from just the Knight’s lance and the Lancia trademark in the centre? New boss Olivia Francois sees Lancia having a special style and sophistication that Alfa Romeo doesn’t have. With this sort of philosophy, expect future models to be stylish, with special architecture and refinement. Or is it still a refined Fiat with sporting pretensions? We know all about the ground-pounding finesse of the rally cars of the 70s and 80s, so will Lancia see a return to the pre-Fiat roots of luxury sports sedans and Grand Turismo?

The current Ypsilon

 Appendix

Lancia advertising over the years – a look at marketing trends

Lancia Montecarlo advert showing the car at the Alps

The author’s personal collection of Lancia material isn’t sufficient to merit proper analysis of the company’s marketing trends but what was available on hand clearly reflected pride the company had in terms of technical innovation, refinement and during the 70s, association with sporting success on the track and in rallying (win on Sunday, sell on Monday).

Phase 1 - Early history – technical innovation, refinement, luxury, some sporting inclinations or association with Grand Prix racing

Phase 2 – Gianni Lancia – similar marketing strategy, usually showing the cars in a country setting and targeting the small family in post-war Italy. Gianni had high aspirations for racing and began a program which eventually culminated in the D50 Grand Prix car with disastrous consequences that completed the path to financial ruin and change in ownership altogether.

Phase 3 – Carlo Pesenti and the Italcementi era – and era where the racing program was halted and profitability emphasized. Advertisements characterized the sedans with the backdrop of the town center and glitz and glamour of an opera house, a yacht club setting and almost always-highlighted elegance, speed and accommodation. The Lancia of the Pesenti phase always stressed the tradition of quality automobiles which gave rise to the image of a company with “two souls”: one sporting and the other, a comfortable sedan.

“Probably nothing more desirable has come out of Italy since Sophia Loren.”

Phase 4 – The Fiat era of ground-pounding Group B rally and sport racing cars, associated with the victorious Stratos, the Montecarlo 032 and the Delta Integrale Evos, usually with rally champion Sandro Munari by the car. Adverts of the 70s that featured the Beta and Gamma series also relied heavily on Italian styling – building a reputation synonymous with taste, tradition and refinement. Adverts of the Beta Montecarlo showed the car with the Alps in the background with catch phrases such as “Probably nothing more desirable has come out of Italy since Sophia Loren.” Dark clouds had been gathering and the early 80s, when reputation had taken a hiding due to rust and Fiat’s purchase had weakened the Lancia image considerably, the company had to rely heavily on past values – La “Corporate Image.” “Vincenzo Lancia always liked being first,” was a typical remark in a Delta advertisement. The Delta, which had already become something of an icon during the heady Evo era of rallying, sold remarkably well as a result of competition success yet adverts never failed to reflect upon the history of the company – its connection with the Ardea (first production car with a 5-speed gearbox), the Flaminia (first with rear wipers in 1957), and the Theta (first in Europe with centralized controls in 1914). By the mid-80s Lancia was already on the brink of extinction, even if they were one of the first to boast a 6-year corrosion warranty for the car of the year (Delta in 1980). By 1994, the company ceased to produce right-hand drive cars altogether, retreating from the UK that same year.

25 years ago – Auto & Design did a spread to celebrate Lancia’s 75th anniversary

Phases

1^st phase – Vincenzo Lancia – 1906-1937

2^nd phase – Gianni Lancia 1937-1956

3^rd phase – Carlo Pesenti 1956-1969

4^th phase – Fiat era 1969-present

List of models – each era

Copyright Eli Solomon, 2006

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eli@SingaporeRareBooks.com