Lancia

The beginning of Lancia Automobiles S.P.A. (formerly named Lancia & Co.) started like many fast Italian car manufacturers. It was a way to offer a better car for racing enthusiasts in Turin, Italy. Vincenzo Lancia and Claudio Fogolin wanted to create a car that was light and inexpensive that would appeal to those who chose racing as their sport.

Vincenzo Lancia spent many years racing cars and had a firm conviction as to how an automobile was to be made. He was a pioneer in this field mostly because he understood the importance of the vehicle mechanics. In the late 1800s, Vincenzo spent quite a lot of time at Giovanni Ceirano’s shop who was partly responsible for founding Fiat. Lancia left school to fulfill his passion for automobiles.

In 1906, Lancia decided to break away from the Ceirano’s factory to pursue an automobile that was completely designed by him. He persuaded Claudio Fogolin, a fellow Fiat test driver to join his ranks. They both put together 50,000 lire each and opened the shop on November 29th, 1906.

The first car manufactured at Lancia was the “Tipo 51” or “12 HP” (later called “Alfa”), which remained in production from 1907 to 1908. It had a side-valve straight 4-engine with a top speed of about 90 kilometers per hour with a 2544 cc engine producing 28 horsepower and rotating around 1800 revolutions per minute. The flagship Lancia Alfa gained stature in the racing community quite quickly giving the brand a boost in the racing industry. The Lancia brand became known for its sobriety and elegance of their exteriors and innovative interior designs.

The first indication of future trends came with Lancia’s 12-cylinder vee-type engine of 6032 c.c which was a breakaway from the traditional “in-line” design. The economic climate was not optimal for this kind of luxury in 1919 so only a few were made. This lead to their first production in-line design called the Tri-Kappa which was produced between 1922-25. It looked like a larger version of Lambda which became one of their more popular models in the early 1920s.