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Lancia celebrates 100 years of style

OK so Lancia haven't sold a car in Australia for years. And the latest cars are not the most inspirational designs. But let's not forget they were making cars and giving meaning to the word 'style' when we were all in nappies (or earlier). So let's allow Lancia to celebrate their centenary - and if you're in Europe over the next few months take time out to visit the Lancia tour. Here is a brief from Lancia on the Lancia Tour Italian Design:

To mark this extraordinary milestone, Lancia is proud to present the Lancia Tour Italian Design, an exploration of design symbols and objects. All strictly made in Italy.

A century of elegance and appeal. A century of style and glamour that has accompanied the lives of Italians with Lancia cars, producing an unquestioned tribute to Italian workmanship. To celebrate this historic moment, Lancia presents the Lancia Tour Italian Design, an itinerant exhibition that makes its debut in the spectacular setting of the Arch of Peace in Milan, during the Furniture Fair, before visiting other European cities such as Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Venice.

The exhibition draws on a spectacular itinerary created by Davide Rampello, Chairman of the Milan Triennial, and curated by Luca Molinari, Director of the NABA School of Design of Milan, to illustrate the world of Lancia values, by displaying cars that have set their imprint on their age, alongside the shapes and objects that have made Italian design history.

"The exhibition focuses on the link between the memory of a glorious past and plans for an equally great future", said Davide Rampello, Chairman of the Milan Triennial. "The project also highlights Italian excellence and focuses attention on the cultural system of a country which has founded its international credibility on the culture of the beautiful and the efficient."

The Lancia cars on display represent 100 years of Italian history: from the Lambda Torpedo (1925), and other historical cars like the Aurelia B24 Spider (1955), the Flaminia Coupé (1965), and the Fulvia Coupé (1967), down to the recent past, with the legendary Delta HF 4WD (1989), and the present, with the Lancia Ypsilon MOMO Design.

The past

Lambda Torpedo Ballon 5th series (1925)

Engine: 4 cylinders in narrow 13° V
Capacity: 2119 cc
Max. power output: 49 bhp
Top speed: 115 km/h
Measurements in mm:
Length 4970
Width 1670
Height 1700

The Lambda was presented at the 1922 Paris Motor Show, and is considered Vincenzo Lancia's masterpiece because of the important technological innovation it contained, and the design that set it apart from all the other cars of the time. It was the first car in the world to have a stress-bearing body, independent front suspension, the transmission tunnel on the floor, a narrow V4 engine, and a luggage compartment incorporated into the stress-bearing body structure.
Nine successive series of the car were built between 1922 and 1931, for a total output of about 13,000 cars.

Aurelia Gran Turismo 2500 Spider (1955)

Engine: 6 cylinders in 60° V
Capacity: 2451 cc
Max. power output: 118 bhp at 5300 rpm
Top speed: 180 km/h
Measurements in mm:
Length 4230
Width 1555
Height 1305

It was the fruit of one of Pinin Farina's most classical and appealing designs, which his son Sergio described as the prototype Italian sports car, usually known as the B 24. It appeared in June 1954 in a pre-production version, and made its official debut on an international stage at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1955.
Earmarked primarily for the U.S. market, but with a few small styling changes, it was a great success on all markets.
After the Spider version, the second series was known as the "Convertible" with the epithet "tipo America" to reflect its great success in that country.
A total of 761 were built between 1954 and 1958.

Flaminia coupé Pininfarina * (1965)

Engine: 6 cylinders in 60° V
Capacity: 2458 cc
Max. power output: 136 bhp
Top speed: 180 km/h
Measurements in mm:
Length 4680
Width 1740
Height 1420

Pinin Farina exhibited the Florida II, an important prototype coupé built on a shortened Flaminia chassis, at the 1958 Geneva Motor Show. At the Turin Motor Show that same year, Lancia presented the Flaminia coupé derived from the Florida II, with just two doors. The car was manufactured in a 2500 cc version to start with, and later in a 2800 cc version. It remained in production from 1958 to 1967.

* We should point out that Pinin Farina were the founder's name and surname and the company name until 1961, when Pininfarina became both the family surname and the name of the company.

Fulvia Coupé 1st series (1967)

Engine: 4 cylinders in narrow 13° V
Capacity: 1216 cc
Max. power output: 79 bhp at 6000 rpm
Top speed: 160 km/h
Measurements in mm:
Length 3975
Width 1555
Height 1300

The coupé version of the Fulvia was presented in 1965.
The styling by Piero Castagnero was brand-new: a sleek, slender line with ample glazing, and a Cd of 0.39. Powered by a 1216 cc engine delivering 79 bhp at 6000 rpm with a top speed of 160 km/h, and subsequently by the more powerful 1300 and 1600 units, it guaranteed acceleration and handling that were unknown on the saloon, thanks to a 15 cm shortened wheelbase and a significant reduction in weight.
The powerful, lighter HF and Sport Zagato versions were designed to compete successfully in rallies. There were thousands of victories, the most famous the 1972 Monte Carlo Rally, and the F.I.A. Cup, which later became the World Rally Championship, won outright the same year. The revamped second series was launched in 1969; engine capacity was increased to 1298 cc, the wheelbase was 20 mm longer, the line and volumes were more harmonious, and the engine delivered 85 bhp and a top speed of 168 km/h.
Production terminated in 1976 with the coupé 3 version, and in eleven years, a total of about 140,000 were built.

Delta HF integrale 16 v Martini gr. 4 (1989)

Engine: 4 cylinders in line 16 valves with turboblower
Capacity: 1995 cc
Max. power output: 280 bhp
Top speed: 215 km/h varying with ratios
Measurements in mm:
Length 3900
Width 700
Height 1380

The Delta went on the market in the Autumn of 1979. The beautiful, compact, innovative line was created by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The elegance and quality of the solutions and materials adopted, combined with the excellent technical set-up, won the Delta the Car of the Year title in 1980, but a preview of what would be the most important version of this car came at the 1982 Turin Motor Show, when a prototype four-wheel drive Delta was presented. This anticipated the permanent four-wheel drive version known as the Delta HF 4WD that was launched in 1986. The car would be produced until 1994 in various versions: the HF integrale, HF integrale 16 v and HF integrale EVO. It made its debut in the World Rally Championship in 1987 and won the title for six successive years, from 1987 to 1992, a record that still stands.

The car on display sports the Martini livery with a red background, which was prepared exclusively for the 1989 San Remo rally.

All the Lancia cars in the exhibition are part of the Lancia Historical Collection in Turin and are the property of Fiat Auto.

Edited by:

Lancia Club Italia

National Brand Register authorised to certify the authenticity of historical cars under Leg. Decree no 285 of 30.4.92 and DPR nos. 495 and 215 of 16.12.92
Fiat Auto - Corso Giovanni Agnelli, 200 - 10135 Torino - 011.0032100 - 011.0033800 - Fax 011.0035730
lanciaclub@fiat.com

Stratos Bertone Zero Prototype (1970)

Engine: 4 cylinders in narrow V derived from Lancia Fulvia coupé HF 1.6
Capacity: 1600 cc
Max. power output: 158 bhp
Length: 3580
Width: 1870
Height: 840

A one-off car that was destined to excite and shock the car design world made its debut at the 1970 Turin Motor Show. It was the Stratos Zero Prototype, which was based on the engineering of the Lancia Fulvia coupé HF 1.6. The result is a single-box, bronze shape, with a sleek body, 358 cm long and just 84 cm high, accessed over the windscreen.
Kindly loaned by the Bertone Collection.

Bertone

Bertone is an independent private group which is equipped to carry out a complete, integrated product development process, from the initial concept to mass production.

Carrozzeria Bertone is the Group's manufacturing division, optimised to construct niche vehicles, with a high degree of operative flexibility. The plant in Grugliasco (Turin) has a surface area of 310,000 sq m and a production capacity of 70,000 vehicles per year.

Bertone Engineering carries out product and process engineering for every Bertone product. This includes the construction of experimental prototypes which are subjected to specific programmes of tests, and handling all aspects of development up to the production process. It boasts a pool of talented automotive engineers who study feasibility, costs and manufacturing options at each stage in the process. All the designers at Bertone Engineering are committed to maintaining a key blend of tradition and innovation aimed at ensuring quality, speed and competitiveness.

Stile Bertone is the creative heart of project design, from the initial style concepts and engineering to the construction of working prototypes. The Stile Bertone facility offers reserved areas dedicated to clients (offices and workshops) to ensure optimum project management.

Bertone Glass boasts state of the art design stations with CAD and CAM systems, and laboratories for physical and chemical product testing. It also has a standardisation centre approved by the Charleroi Glass Institute.

The present

Lancia Thesis 2006

The new Thesis 2006 combines sportiness and elegance in a unique, exclusive design.
To start with, on the outside, the car has extremely refined metallic grey bodywork which sets off the styling of the Lancia flagship superbly. What is more, the 18" spoked alloy wheels catch the eye, enhancing the sporty look of this particular version.
The same imprint is evident inside, with the new red Frau® leather upholstery and coordinated finish. The original Thesis 2006 is perfectly in tune with the spirit of the Lancia flagship, a luxury saloon that exploits elegance and cutting-edge technology to appeal to elite motorists. Which is why it is fitted with the new 2.4 Multijet 20 valve engine which, combined with a sequential self-adaptive five-speed automatic transmission, delivers 185 bhp at 4000 rpm and peak torque of 330 Nm at 1500 rpm. And with this power pack, the car has a top speed of 225 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.2 seconds. The car on display obviously offers all the strong points of the Thesis model, from the lavish standard safety equipment (ABS with EBD, ESP complete with ASR, 8 airbags) to the luxurious, protective, spacious passenger compartment, featuring the sophisticated Connect Nav+, a Bose Hi-fi system, multi-zone automatic climate control and Comfort front seats.

Lancia Ypsilon MOMO Design

The Lancia Ypsilon MOMO Design is the gutsy but fashionable new version of this model. It is the result of collaboration between Lancia and the MomoDesign Styling Centre, which both believe in innovative design, the use of state-of-the-art materials and attention to detail.
For example, the model is the first mass produced car to sport metallic opaque black paint for the tailgate, roof and pillars, combined with Pastel Black, Pergolesi Ivory, Bramante Orange and Alberti Red paintwork. The metalluro finish of a number of elements gives an additional touch of elegance: from the door handles to the tailgate moulding, the identification logo, and the grille frame. Inside, the seats are upholstered with striking Glamour fabric, which is black on the side strips and orange, red or magnesium on the seat cushion to match the exterior colour.
The car is lavishly equipped: manual climate control with pollen filter, Dualdrive power steering, 15" sporty alloys, radio with CD and MP3 file player (on request), ABS with EBD, 4 airbags and foglights.

Lancia Ypsilon Oro and Platino

Two versions (Oro and Platino) of the "pocket flagship" are on display in the exhibition, both with two-tone paintwork. The first is "clothed" in a sophisticated Alberti Red and Masaccio Black, a timeless combination that is repeated in the interior, where the striking two-tone (Grey/Black) Glamour technical cloth upholstery of the seats and panels also catches the eye.
Equipped with the 60 bhp 1.2 8v engine, the Lancia Ypsilon Oro proposes an interesting array of standard equipment, including a radio with CD player, foglights and manual climate control. The equipment is even more comprehensive on the second car, with the Platino outfit, which has beautiful Stradivarius Mink and Caravaggio Brown paintwork and dark brown leather upholstery. Powered by the brilliant 70- bhp 1.3 Multijet engine, this version offers the GranLuce sunroof, manual climate control, a radio with CD player, foglights, leather upholstery and 15" alloys all as standard equipment.

Lancia Musa Platino Plus

The car on display has two-tone Stradivarius Mink and Caravaggio Brown paintwork, a touch of originality and class that sets off the car's clean, harmonious exterior line. And the refined exterior of the Lancia Musa Platino Plus is complemented perfectly by the precious passenger compartment: an authentic living-room, where the seats upholstered entirely in brown leather are enhanced by contrasting piping and stitching, and by the Musa logo on the head restraint.
The standard equipment is extremely interesting: automatic dual-zone climate control, satellite map navigator complete with CD player and GSM telephone with hands-free function, leather steering wheel, 4 airbags, parking sensors, Gran Luce sunroof, and 16" two-tone alloys. Plus electric power steering, ESP, ABS with EBD, foglights, and electronic front and rear windows.
And finally, the Musa Platino Plus is equipped with the powerful, elastic 1.9 Multijet engine (Euro 4) which delivers a maximum of 100 bhp (74 kW) at 4000 rpm and peak torque of 260 Nm (26.4 kgm) at 1750 rpm. Combined with a manual 5-speed gearbox, the engine takes the Lancia Musa Platino Plus to a top speed of 179 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds.
But consumption remains low: 5.5 l/100 km on the combined cycle.

© italiancar.com.au 16/04/06