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PortugalLancia Flavia
Lancia Flavia
Rédaction : Albert Lallement
TRADITION AND INNOVATION
First presented at the Turin Motor Show in 1960, the Lancia Flavia marked a decisive step in the history of the company, and was the most technically advanced Italian car in a decade.
As is traditional at Lancia, any mid-range saloon has to combine modern, even avant-garde, technical design with outstanding performance and a high level of comfort. With the Flavia, the Turin-based manufacturer achieved these objectives, even if its bodywork, spacious and functional, presented a few stylistic mistakes that would soon be forgotten thanks to the sports versions signed by the leading coachbuilders of the time.
The body design of the first generation Flavia saloon was sometimes considered to be a little heavy, even though it had an original personality. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
When industrialist Carlo Pesenti bought Lancia in 1955, engineer Antonio Fessia was appointed Director of the brand's Design Department. He was immediately given the task of designing a mid-range model to fill the gap that existed in the Turin-based manufacturer's catalogue between the imposing top-of-the-range Flaminia launched in 1957 and the small, popular Appia dating from 1953. The Flavia name reflects Lancia's attachment to the history of its country, via Flavia being one of the famous roads of ancient Rome.
The first version of the Lancia Flavia Coupé, designed by Pininfarina in 1962, was distinguished by its prominent grille. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
A MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL STEP
The Flavia began its road tests in 1957 and was officially presented at the 42nd Turin Motor Show in November 1960. This mid-range saloon continued the tradition of innovative design that had been Lancia's trademark since the very beginning, but it took a major technological step forward by adopting front-wheel drive for the first time. Since this model, all the cars produced by Lancia have adopted this resolutely modern mechanical layout.
However, front-wheel drive was nothing new to Flavia's designer, Ingegnere Antonio Fessia, who had in fact reworked the outline of the CEMSA Caproni F11 prototype which he had studied in 1947. The Flavia's first engine was a 1,500 cm3, 78 bhp flat-four. This architecture remained unchanged until the end of the model's production run, although it was subject to a number of improvements.
The most significant of these were the introduction of the 1,800 cm3 and 92 bhp in 1963, with Bosch Kugelfisher injection and 102 bhp in 1965, followed in 1969 by the 1,991 cm3 and 114 bhp (with the option of 126 bhp injection the same year). In 1967, Lancia celebrated its sixtieth anniversary and to mark the occasion, all luxury versions of the Flavia were suffixed with LX, the Roman number sixty. After the final takeover of Lancia by Fiat in 1969, the Flavia simply became the 2000, named after the capacity of its new 1,991 cm3 engine.
The rear of the 2+2 Pininfarina coupé is particularly well designed, with a gently sloping line that ends low over the boot lid. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
COUPES AND CABRIOLETS
Like previous Lancia models, the new Flavia rapidly attracted the interest of experts for its advanced technical solutions. With this model, however, it was difficult for them to get excited about its quadrangular silhouette, whose lines were not considered to be very aerodynamic... While the Flavia was certainly not lacking in personality, its in-house design by Piero Castagnero surprised the press at the time. This was particularly true of the massive, prominent grille, with its high-set twin headlights, the engine's overhang, as well as the coupé-style rear and completely smooth sides.
A second series was introduced in 1967, with a body featuring softer lines and a more integrated radiator grille. In 1962, Lancia commissioned Pininfarina to design its first coupé, based on the successful design that he had previously created for the Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2. Several others followed over time, including a remarkable Sport model designed by Zagato between 1963 and 1967. A number of cabriolets versions were also created on the basis of the Flavia, one of the most successful models produced by Vignale and based on a design by Giovanni Michelotti in 1964. All these models with special bodywork were progressively equipped with the new engines used on the saloon.
Total production of the Flavia (including the 2000 version) between 1960 and 1974 was 108,175 units, with 79,764 saloons (1960-1974), 26,810 coupés (1962-1973) including 726 Zagato sports coupes (1963-1967) and 1,601 cabriolets (1963-1967). 72 units of the 1500 saloon and 240 units of the 1800 saloon were built under licence in South Africa, with right-hand drive. A number of unique body styles were also produced, including the station wagon built by Touring in 1963 and the limousine built by Francis Lombardi to succeed the Aurelia B15.
The dashboard of the 1800 coupé is both efficient, with instrumentation to match that of a sports car, and refined, with precious wood trim. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
The Flavia's flat four-cylinder engine (shown here in an 1800 version with fuel injection) is particularly compact, in contrast to the transmission, which is very long. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.
Fiche technique
Lancia Flavia Saloon 1500 (1961)
• Engine: Lancia (type 815.00), 4 cylinders, flat opposed, front, longitudinal
• Displacement: 1,500 cm3
• Bore x stroke: 82 mm x 71 mm
• Power: 78 bhp at 5,200 rpm
• Fuel system: Weber 32 DCH twin-barrel carburettor
• Ignition: battery, coil and distributor
• Timing: twin central camshafts, rods and rocker arms, 2 overhead valves per cylinder
• Transmission: front wheel drive, 4-speed synchronised gearbox + M.A.
• Tyres: 165 SR 15 (front and rear)
• Brakes: discs (front and rear), hydraulic control
• Length: 4580 mm
• Width: 1610 mm
• Height: 1510 mm
• Wheelbase: 2650 mm
• Front track: 1300 mm
• Rear track: 1280 mm
• Weight (empty): 1,190 kg
• Maximum speed: 148 km/h
AN EXCEPTIONAL ENGINEER
The creator of the Lancia Flavia, Ingegnere Antonio Fessia, was born in Turin on 27 November 1901. After studying mechanical engineering at the Turin Polytechnic, he joined the Fiat Design Office in 1925, where he contributed to the design of the Balilla and Topolino models, working with Fiat's Technical Director, engineer Dante Giacosa. In 1946, he joined the Caproni industrial group, for whom he designed the F.11 prototype, a model that was never produced, but whose main technical innovations (front-wheel drive, four-cylinder flat engine) were used in the Flavia a decade later.
Fessia joined Lancia in March 1955 as Technical Director, taking over from the prolific Vittorio Jano. He worked on the second generation of the Appia, and subsequently designed several outstanding models such as the 1957 Flaminia, the 1960 Flavia and the 1963 Fulvia. He ended his engineering career in 1967 and died on 19 August the following year in Borgomasino, near Turin.
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