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PortugalLancia Aurelia B24
Lancia Aurelia B24
Rédaction : Albert Lallement
A SPIDER FOR AMERICA
Launched five years after the saloon, the cabriolet version of the Lancia Aurelia is considered one of the masterpieces of automotive design of its time.
The United States, and the West Coast in particular, have always been a very dynamic market for convertibles and open-top cars. Since 1954, Max Hoffman, a major American importer of European sports cars, regularly asked Lancia to produce a spider version of the Aurelia. This model, initially called the Spider B24, was so successful on the other side of the Atlantic that it was nicknamed the Spider America.
The extraordinarily pure lines of the bodywork, with its stylish radiator grille extending from the air intake on the bonnet.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
Designed primarily for the American market, the Aurelia B24 spider was the result of a loyal and proven collaboration between two prestigious Turin-based companies, Lancia and coachbuilder Pinin Farina. With this new model, the two companies were once again cultivating the paradox of innovation and classicism that had so often worked for them. But this time, their profoundly Latin temperament resulted in a sporty cabriolet, a rarity in its category, which was to become an essential icon of post-war Italian coachbuilding.
The lines of the Aurelia B24 are reminiscent of those of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta spider, another Pinin Farina masterpiece. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
MADE FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET
The particular charm of this car was highlighted several years later in Dino Risi's film "Le Fanfaron", released in 1962, in which Vittorio Gassman, accompanied by Maurice Trintignant, drives a B24 Aurelia convertible. The story of the Aurelia spider began when Max Hoffman, who represented several brands from Europe, noticed the enthusiasm of American customers for British roadsters such as the Jaguar XK120 and the MG TD, of which there was no equivalent in the United States. He first convinced BMW to produce the 507 roadster, then persuaded Gianni Lancia to build a spider version of the phenomenal B20 Coupé GT, which had been competing in international rallies since 1951. Vincenzo Lancia's son accepted Hoffman's arguments and the order was placed with Carrozzeria Pinin Farina for a cabriolet version based on the B20 GT chassis, with its wheelbase shortened by 20 cm for the occasion.
To appeal to customers on the other side of the Atlantic, Pinin Farina equipped the first Aurelia B24 spider with the typically American panoramic windscreen which had made the Chevrolet Corvette such a success since 1953. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © © Lancia D.R.
FROM SPIDER TO CONVERTIBLE
The first prototype, the PF200, was designed by Francesco Martinengo at Pinin Farina. Unlike the GTs, the open versions of the Aurelia would carry the signature of the Turin coachbuilder. In January 1955, the car, initially called the Lancia Aurelia GT 2500 Spider, was officially presented at the Motor Show in Brussels and then at the Geneva Motor Show the following March, where it was called Spider B24. Its 6 cm lower silhouette, elegantly curved rear wings and astonishing 'panoramic' windscreen, a nod to the American designers of the day, caused a sensation on the Lancia stand.
Most of the cars produced from the first production run actually crossed the Atlantic, to the extent that the Lancia Spider was soon nicknamed 'America'. This first version was a rather Spartan sports car, with doors without handles and removable side windows. European customers were looking for greater comfort and, in 1956, a modified version, called the Convertible, was offered. It had a more spacious passenger compartment and larger doors with handles and drop-down windows combined with deflectors. It also had a new conventional windscreen and straight, one-piece bumpers, which in return made it lose much of its charm...
To lower the bonnet line of the B24, pictured here is a 1957 model, the air filter, fan and water pump were lowered. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
AN EXCEPTIONAL CONVERTIBLE
At a time when many spiders and roadsters were simply looking good, the Lancia B24 had a very sporty character, adopting the powertrain of the fourth series of the B20 Coupé GT, with a 2,451 cm3 V6 engine developing 118 bhp and delivering a maximum torque of 18.5 mkg at 3,500 rpm. Besides series production, a number of special and unique Lancia B24 bodies were created by private designers. Starting with the cabriolet presented by Pinin Farina at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show, which Brigitte Bardot acquired some time later. According to the story, the famous actress had the car repainted in a delicate shade of pink... The following Geneva Show also saw Vignale, a coachbuilder based in Turin, exhibit a cabriolet called Raggio Azzuro II, designed in collaboration with Enrico Nardi and Giovanni Michelotti. One of the best-known special bodywork designs was created in 1958 on the initiative of Italian sculptor Umberto Mastroianni, the uncle of actor Marcello Mastroianni.
From the outside, the 1957 convertible version was distinguished by its straight bumpers and larger doors, making the passenger compartment more easily accessible. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
Technical data
Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider (1955)
• Engine: Lancia (type B24), 6-cylinder 60° V-twin, front longitudinal
• Displacement: 2,451 cm3
• Bore x stroke: 78 mm x 85.5 mm
• Power: 118 bhp at 5,300 rpm
• Fuel: 1 Weber 40 DCZ5 twin-barrel carburettor
• Ignition: battery (12 volts), coil and Marelli 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: drums (diameter 300 mm front and 280 mm rear), hydraulic control
• Length: 4200 mm
• Width: 1550 mm
• Height: 1500 mm
• Wheelbase: 2450 mm
• Front track: 1290 mm
• Rear track: 1300 mm
• Weight (unladen): 1,060 kg
• Maximum speed: 180 km/h
PRODUCTION NUMBERS AND COMPETITION
Between 1950 and 1958, the Lancia Aurelia was produced in a total of 17,336 units, 761 of which were convertibles. From December 1954 to October 1955, 240 units of the first series, called the B24 Spider, were built, 181 of them in the B24S version with a left-hand drive (S for sinistra, "left" in Italian). The second series, known as the B24S convertible, produced 150 units between July and December 1956. The third and final B24 convertible series was produced in 371 units between January 1957 and December 1958. Two pre-production models were also built in 1954. Its principal competitors were European, and mainly British, such as the Jaguar XK 140, the Triumph TR3 Roadster and the Austin Healey 100/6. It also competed with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1300 and the Mercedes 190 SL roadster. In spite of its high sales price ( nearly twice that of a Cadillac Eldorado!), the B24 had no trouble finding an audience, particularly in the United States.
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