Lancia Astura

Rédaction : Albert Lallement

THE LAMBDA LEGACY

In 1931, the Lambda reached the end of its career and it took no less than two models, the Artena and the Astura, to succeed Vincenzo Lancia's masterpiece.

Based on avant-garde technical concepts from the Lambda, an initial model, the Dilambda, was launched in 1929. But it was launched at the height of the world economic crisis, and its high price limited sales to less than 1,000 units in three years. Vincenzo Lancia quickly realised the situation and changed his plans, launching a study of two new models that were very similar, but only in appearance: the mid-range Artena, with a V4 engine, and the top-of-the-range Artena, with a V8 engine, which were both presented at the 1931 Paris Motor Show.

The Astura was an inspiration to the greatest coachbuilders of the time, such as Pinin Farina, who produced this elegantly sleek cabriolet in 1938. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

A single model was undoubtedly not enough to replace the famous Lambda, which had evolved from a light 2.1-litre Torpedo to a 2.6-litre luxury saloon car over the decade of its existence. Vincenzo therefore decided to offer two cars in parallel, one relatively simple and economical, called the Artena, and the other, called the Astura, which was a powerful and luxurious saloon car, but sold at a much lower price than the Dilambda, which was still featured in the brand's catalogue. With these two models, as well as the small, popular Augusta saloon car introduced in 1933, Lancia abandoned the Greek alphabet for the first time and chose names of localities for its cars. This approach corresponded to the nationalist spirit of the time. Astura was the name of a historic castle in Nettuno, south of Rome, and Artena was the name of a small town to the east of the Italian capital.

The passenger compartment of this cabriolet is particularly well designed, but without excessive luxury. The dashboard instrumentation was supplied by the Italian equipment manufacturer Metron, under licence from Jaeg. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

DIFFERENT TECHNICAL CHOICES

The two models resembled each other and shared the same chassis structure. At first glance, the latter may seem less modern in design than its predecessors. However, a closer look reveals that the innovation that has been Lancia's hallmark from the outset has gone just as far, albeit in different directions. The self-supporting bodywork introduced on the Lambda has been abandoned in favour of a classic separate chassis with boxed side rails reinforced by a cross-member. At the front, the whole is extended by a reinforcing cross-member which supports two slightly tapered longitudinal beams accommodating the engine. At the rear, rigidity is provided by a welded sheet on top of the side rails at the end of the chassis. At the front, the radiator grille in thick sheet metal has been removed, but the suspension's tubular crossmember and solid bolt-on bumper provide plenty of rigidity. The suspension chosen for the front axle is the innovative one introduced on the Lambda. It features independent wheels, vertical coil springs and telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers. At the rear, there's a conventional rigid axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and Siata friction dampers. However, hydraulic shock absorbers adjustable from the passenger compartment were available as an option. In addition, the engine itself was suspended by a new system of short leaf springs riveted to the chassis, which absorbed the vibrations and oscillations of the V8.

The factory bodywork of the first Lancia Asturas could sometimes be a little austere, like this four-seater interior from 1931. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © © Lancia D.R.

FOUR SERIES IN NINE YEARS

Although the Astura, like the Artena, was not a revolutionary car as was the Lambda, it faithfully pursued the avant-garde approach introduced by its predecessor nine years earlier. These cars have distinguished themselves by significantly improving comfort, ease of driving and quiet operation. So much so that the third series Astura (launched in 1933) was considered by the journalists to be one of the best European cars in the 3-litre class available at the time. At first glance, the Artena and the Astura share many similarities, the result of a desire to standardise for economic reasons.

Both are offered with basic 'factory' coachwork: four-seater saloon or six-seater limousine. The difference was in the chassis, with the Astura's wheelbase on average 19 cm longer to accommodate its larger V8 engine. The first series of Asturas (1931-1932) Type 230, like the second (1932-1933) Type 230, still featured the 2,604 cm3, 19°-open V8 (Type 85) developing 72 bhp. The third series was offered in two versions: Type 233L ("Lungo" produced from 1933 to 1937) and 233C ("Corto" produced from 1933 to 1936) with a wheelbase of 333.2 cm and 310 cm respectively. This series, which benefited from the new 2,972 cm3 17° 30' open V8 (Type 91) offering 10 bhp more power, interested the leading coachbuilders of the day, who fitted the Astura with flamboyant bodywork. The fourth series (1937-1939) Type 241, with a wheelbase of 347.5 cm, marked the end of the Astura's career. Between 1931 and 1939, 2,912 cars were produced in all versions.

This catalogue from the Astura's first Paris Motor Show, in October 1931, shows the car's suspension system with cantilever springs and telescopic shock absorbers. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

Fiche technique

Lancia Astura 233 C (1936)

• Engine: Type 91, 8-cylinder, 17° 30' V-twin, monobloc, front, longitudinal

• Displacement: 2,972.99 cm3

• Bore x stroke: 74.61 mm x 85 mm

• Power: 82 bhp at 4,000 rpm

• uel system: Zenith 30 DVI twin-barrel inverted vertical carburettor

• Ignition: Bosch coil and distributor

• Timing: central overhead camshaft, 2 vertical valves per cylinder

• Transmission: rear wheel drive, 4-speed gearbox + M.A.

• Tyres: 15 x 45 (front and rear)

• Brakes: mechanical, drums (front and rear), Dewandre servo brake

• Length: 4520 mm

• Width: 1642 mm

• Height: unknown

• Wheelbase: 3100 mm

• Front track: 1374 mm

• Rear track: 1400 mm

• Weight (empty): 960 kg

• Maximum speed: 130 km/h

THE LANCIA ASTURA IN RACING

Astura's sporting career took off mainly after the war, but in the 1930s it had already achieved some fine feats. At the 1934 Mille Miglia, for example, the two-seater Astura with Carlo Pintacuda and Mario Nardilli at the wheel was awarded victory in the 2-litre Touring category and 10th place overall. Two months later, the same team won the first edition of the Giro Automobilistico d'Italia (also known as the Coppa d'Oro del Littorio at the time), while another Astura driven by Giuseppe Farina and Ernesto Oneto finished 3rd. At the Spa 10 Hours of the same year, three Lancia Asturas took 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions in their category 2,001 at 3,000 cm³ (behind a Bugatti) with the teams Pintacuda-Nardilli, Dickey-Garrey and Gouvion-Guerini. After the war, a Scuderia Ambrosiana Astura Spider with driver Franco Cortese won two events outside the championship in 1946 at Luino and Modena. The Astura's last major success came in 1950, at the Scala di Giocca hill-climb in Osilo, when E. Manca won the 1,100 Sport class and finished 2nd overall.