Lancia was founded on 29 November 1906 in Turin by Vincenzo Lancia and his friend Claudio Fogolin, both being Fiat racing drivers, as Lancia & C. The first Lancia automobile the "tipo 51" or 12 HP (later called Alfa) was made in 1907 and produced from 1908. This car has a small four cylinder engine with a power of 58 bhp.
Lancia is famous for many automotive innovations. These include in 1913 the Theta was the first production car in Europe to feature a complete electrical system as standard equipment, the first with a monocoque-type body - the Lambda, produced from 1922 to 1931 which also featured 'Sliding Pillar' independent front suspension that incorporated the spring and hydraulic damper into a single unit (and featured on most production Lancias until the Appia was replaced in 1963).
In 1948 saw the first 5 speed gearbox to be fitted to a production car (Series 3 Ardea), the first full-production V6 engine, in the 1950 Aurelia, and earlier experiments with V8 and V12 engine configurations. It was also the first company to produce a V4 engine. Also, Lancia pioneered the use of independent suspension in production cars, in an era where live axles were common practice for both the front and rear axles of a car as well as rear transaxles which were fitted to the Aurelia and Flaminia ranges...
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia
Lancia photos
