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97 Year Old Italian Still Enjoys a Day at The Beach

The 1924 Lancia with its outstanding technical innovations more than its performance, took part credibly in the first Mille Miglia race in 1927 where Lancia took the first three places in Class D (3,000 cc).

 

The following year, a factory entered car almost finished second place to a supercharged Alfa Romeo, a victim of a dropped valve near the end of the grueling race. Later, the Lambda replaced by the more formal Dilambda and no longer competed seriously in sports car racing for several years.

 

Why was this car so important technologically? First, it was the first car to feature a load bearing monocoque body which, ultimately, became the standard of auto manufacturing a decade later. Someone once said designer Vincenzo Lancia divined the idea when he contemplated the design of ships in which they incorporate the hull as part of the aggregate strength. With body sections stamped along with a chassis, the car was remarkably stable, easy to manufacture, but limited in terms of the ability to add different carrozzerie. Lancia abandoned the design in the early 1930s when the desire for different bodies in the now more luxurious idiom demanded a different platform.

 

By the mid-1930’s this unibody technique became universal. The driveshaft tunnel was the backbone of the car and they could seat the passengers beside rather than above the tunnel there by lowering the overall profile. An equally dramatic innovation was the independent sliding pillar front suspension comprised of an oil-filled tube with springs, adjustable through an opening on the front fender by which each wheel could move vertically through a significant radius, an important first.

 

The engine itself was different. A V4 in construction the angle of which was only 14 degrees with an overhead valve drive train. Finally, the external design was dramatic and very attractive. Because of the low set frame, a lithe profile was effected. Sweeping flared fenders graced the simple body which tapered nicely in the rear. Although not the first to do so, four-wheel brakes were standard on these cars since 1923. With this significant change, many consider Lancia the first mass-produced cars whose stopping power equaled their acceleration. They made Lambdas right up through 1931 when the Dilambda supervened. There was a progressive increase in displacement and horsepower.

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Uploaded on October 31, 2021
Taken on October 24, 2021