Lancia Aurelia

Rédaction : Albert Lallement

THE WAY TO MODERNITY

Lancia's Aurelia saloon, launched after the Second World War, became the basis for an elegant coupé that gave new meaning to the concept of the Grand Touring car.

In 1948, the engineer Gianni Lancia, having taken over the brand founded in 1906 by his father Vincenzo, decided to replace the Aprilia model that had made the Turin-based manufacturer a success since 1937. The new Aurelia, launched in 1950, became one of the pioneering cars in the history of the automobile, adopting a number of avant-garde techniques such as a standard V6 engine, transaxle and rear brakes attached to the differential.

Since the early 1930s, Lancia cars have been named after places of ancient Rome. The Via Aurelia was a Roman road in the south of France. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

The year 1950 marked a turning point in the history of many European manufacturers, as they introduced models designed entirely after the war. The Aurelia, which was presented at the Turin Motor Show in early May of that year, was one of this new generation group of cars. This model was undoubtedly one of the most innovative in Lancia's history, while retaining the brand's traditional principles, which can best be summarised as elegance with a modern twist...

STYLISH AND MODERN

From the very beginning, like Citroën in France, Lancia has had the reputation of being a manufacturer with an innovative vision. The 1937 Aprilia, a posthumous masterpiece by Vincenzo Lancia, is an excellent example of this. When, in 1948, Gianni Lancia, Managing Director of the Turin-based firm, decided to replace it by the Aurelia, many of its predecessor's technical solutions, such as the four independent wheels, were adopted. The technical team in charge of designing the Aurelia was led by Giuseppe Vaccarino. He was surrounded by two of the most creative engineers of their time, Vittorio Jano and Francesco De Virgilio. The Aurelia had to be spacious yet compact and, like its predecessors, it had to have impeccable roadholding. Continuing along the technical path pioneered by Lancia before the war, it adopted the monocoque body, but innovated with a trailing arm suspension and coil springs that the manufacturer had recently patented. Vittorio Jano was also keen to optimise weight distribution, and installed the gearbox at the rear, attached to the axle.

THE FIRST PRODUCTION V6

The origin of the engine powering the Aurelia dates back to 1943, when De Virgilio was working on an experimental 2-litre V8 for the Aprilia. However, it was far too voluminous to fit beneath the bonnet of this car, and the brilliant engineer came up with a 1,569 cm3 V6 engine with a 45° opening, code-named 538, which was successfully tested. When its successor was built, the angle of this V6 was increased to 60° for better balance. The result was the B10 engine, the first V6 engine to be produced in series. This unit, with a displacement of 1,754 cm3 (bore: 70 mm x stroke: 76 mm), produced 56 bhp at 4,000 rpm. Built in aluminium with cast-iron cylinder liners, it was installed into the Aurelia B10 saloon, presented at the Turin Motor Show in May 1950. The following year the B20 GT coupé with a 1,991 cm3 V6 was launched, while the range was completed by a B24 Spider version from 1957, equipped with the 2,451 cm3 V6 engine that had been used in the GT since 1953. Lancia followed its usual approach and gradually improved this advanced model on a regular basis. A total of 17,336 units of the Lancia Aurelia were produced between 1950 and 1958, including 371 GT Coupés and 760 Spiders.

THE TRACK RECORD OF A CHAMPION

The Lancia Aurelia has won countless victories in rallies and on circuits. Its first success came with Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi at the 1951 Sestriere Rally. That year, the Aurelia also won the Dolomites Cup (E. Anselmi) and the 6 Hours of Pescara (G. Bracco), while Bracco and Maglioli finished 2nd in the prestigious Mille Miles. These excellent results encouraged Gianni Lancia to create a racing department with the technical assistance of engineers Jano and De Virgillio. The emblem of this "Team Lancia" was a galloping red elephant designed by the driver Enrico Anselmi. The 1952 season opened with another victory in the Sestriere Rally (Valenzano), followed by Felice Bonetto's victory in the Targa Florio. At the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours, the Aurelia finished a respectable 6th in the general classification (Valenzano- Castiglioni). At the end of the year, Maglioli and Bornigia finished 4th in the gruelling Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. Other major victories over the following years included the Rallye Liège-Rome-Liège in 1953 (Claes-Trasenster) and the Rallye de Monte-Carlo in 1954 (Chiron-Basadonna) and the Rallye de Sestrières again in 1954 and 1955. Long after production had ceased, the Aurelia continued to win races through private drivers. One of the very last successes was achieved at the Acropolis Rally in 1958 by Luigi Villoresi and co-driver Ciro Basadonna.

Gianni Bracco and Umberto Maglioli's Aurelia B20 finished 2nd overall and won the 2-litre GT category at the 1951 Mille Miglia. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

Fiche technique

Lancia Aurelia B20 coupé GT (1951)

• Engine: Lancia (type B20), 6-cylinder 60° V-twin, longitudinal, front-wheel drive

• Displacement: 1,991 cm3

• Bore x stroke: 72 mm x 81.5 mm

• Power: 75 bhp at 4,500 rpm

• Fuel: 2 Weber 32 DR7 SP inverted single-barrel carburettors

• Ignition: battery (12 volts), coil and distributor

• Timing: central camshaft, rods and rocker arms, 2 overhead valves per cylinder

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

• Tyres: 165 x 400 (front and rear)

• Brakes: Hydraulic drum brakes (front and rear)

• Length: 4280 mm

• Width: 1540 mm

• Height: 1400 mm

• Wheelbase: 2660 mm

• Front track: 1280 mm

• Rear track: 1300 mm

• Weight (empty): 1,000 kg

• Maximum speed: 160 km/h

A LASTING TRIBUTE

Throughout its career, the Lancia Aurelia was praised by the automotive press and by the world's greatest champions of the time, such as Juan-Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn and Jean Behra, who appreciated driving this model immensely. A few months after the last Aurelia had left the Turin factory, the 8 November 1958 issue of the renowned British weekly magazine "The Autocar" reported: "The Lancia Aurelia 2500 GT can be exceptionally thrilling at high speed on the open road, while displaying a docility of the highest order when driven in the city. Add to this soberly elegant lines and meticulous craftsmanship, and there is no doubt that this is one of the most successful sports cars of the decade.