Lancia Flaminia

Lancia Flaminia
Lancia Flaminia GTL Touring Coupé 2,8
Manufacturer Lancia
Production 1957–1970
Predecessor Lancia Aurelia
Successor Lancia Gamma
Class Luxury car
Body style 4-door sedan (Lancia)
2-door coupé (Pininfarina)
2-door coupé (Zagato)
2-door coupé (Touring)
2-door cabrio (Touring)
4-door landaulet limousine (Pininfarina)[1]
Layout FR layout
Engine 2.5 L OHC Lancia V6
2.8 L OHC Lancia V6[1]
Transmission 4-speed manual
Saxomat semi-auto[1]
Wheelbase 2,870 mm (113 in) saloon
2,515 mm (99.0 in) coupé
Length 4,877 mm (192.0 in) saloon
4,496 mm (177.0 in) coupé
Width 1,753 mm (69.0 in) saloon
1,651 mm (65.0 in) coupé
Height 1,473 mm (58.0 in) saloon
1,295 mm (51.0 in) coupé
Curb weight 1,430 kg (3,200 lb) saloon
1,440 kg (3,200 lb)
Pinin. coupé
Related Lancia Aurelia[1]
Designer Pininfarina, Zagato, Touring[1]

The Lancia Flaminia is a luxury car from the Italian automaker, Lancia, built from 1957 to 1970. It was Lancia's flagship model at that time, replacing the Aurelia. It was available throughout its lifetime as saloon, coupé and cabriolet. The Flaminia coupé and cabriolet were coachbuilt cars with bodies from several prestigious Italian coachbuilders. Four "presidential" stretched limousine Flaminias were produced by Pininfarina for use on state occasions.

There were 12,633 Flaminias sold over 13 years.[2] Coupés outsold the four door saloon, an unusual occurrence otherwise seen at the time only in American compact and midsize models whose coupe versions were standard factory models that cost the same or less than the sedan, while the Flaminia coupes' coachbuilt bodies made them considerably more expensive than the limousine-like Berlina.

Contents

Name

The Flaminia was named after the Via Flaminia, the road leading from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini). This respected the established Lancia tradition of naming individual models after Roman roads.

Development

The Flaminia's chassis was a development of the Aurelia's, but was significantly upgraded. The front suspension was changed to a more conventional configuration with double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers, and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension retained the De Dion setup, with a transaxle mounted at the rear as in the Aurelia. The first Berlinas was available with drum brake or discs, all other models hade discs only.

The original two bodies of the Flaminia were developed by Pininfarina and modelled after his two Aurelia-based motor show specials, named Florida. The Florida I, presented at the 1956 Turin Motor show, was a saloon with suicide doors. The Florida II, presented a year later at the Salon International de l'Auto in Geneva, was a coupé, and became Battista Farina's personal car of choice. The production version of the Lancia Flaminia appeared in 1957.[1]

Flaminia development timeline: Spring 1955: Pinin Farina Florida 4-door based on Lancia Aurelia chassis. March 1956 (Geneva): Pinin Farina Florida 2-door based on Lancia Aurelia chassis. April 1956 (Turin): Lancia Flaminia with 'suicide' door and coil spring suspension. March 1957 (Geneva): Lancia Flaminia with traditional door arrangement.

Engines

For more details, see Lancia V6 engine

The Flaminia's engine was an evolution of the world's first V6, which was introduced in the Aurelia. It had increased bore and decreased stroke. The engines were mounted longitudinally, powering the rear wheels through a 4-speed rear-mounted transaxle. A version with increased displacement was introduced in 1962.[1]

Engines
Year Displacement Configuration Power Notes
1957–1961 2.5 L (2458 cc/149 in³) Single-carburetor 102 hp (76 kW)
1957–1962 119 hp (89 kW) 2-door versions
1961–1963 110 hp (82 kW) Different carburetor
1957–1962 Triple-carburettor 140 hp (104 kW) Sport, Convertibile, GT
1962–1970 2.8 L (2775 cc/169 in³) Triple-barrel carburetor 128 hp (95 kW) Berlina
1962–1967 136 hp (101 kW) Coupé
1962–1967 150 hp (112 kW) Sport, Convertibile, GT, and GTL
1964–1967 Triple-carburetor 152 hp (113 kW) Super Sport

Body styles

Berlina - pre-production version

The first Flaminia berlina was revealed at the Turin Motor show in April 1956. It differed from the production model shown in March 1957 in Geneva mainly by having pilarless four-door saloon body. 1956 Lancia range.

Berlina

The saloon version of the car was generally designated by the Italian word for this body style, Berlina. Designed by Pininfarina based on the Florida I prototype, this was the only body to be built by Lancia themselves, as well as becoming the only body to last through the entire production period. There were 3,344 Berlinas built with the 2.5 L engine (102/110 bhp specification), and additional 599 with the 2.8 L (128 bhp). They were assembled at Lancia's old facility at Borgo San Paolo as the last model to be built there.[1][2]

Coupé

The Coupé was also penned by Pininfarina, and built by the coachbuilder. It was very similar to the Florida II prototype with a 2+2 layout. Like all other 2-door versions, the Coupé had a shortened wheelbase relative to the Berlina. The front end of the Coupé does not differ from the Berlina majorly, but the headlight frames are completely round, whereas they point slightly upwards in the saloon. 5,236 Coupés (4,151 with the 2.5, 1,085 with the 2.8) were built until 1967.[1][2]

GT, GTL and Convertible

Carrozzeria Touring designed and built these aluminum bodied two-door versions, which can be easily distinguished by their four round headlights (rather than two on Pininfarina Flaminias), and a shorter cabin - the wheelbase was decreased significantly for the GT and Convertibile, allowing for only two seats to be mounted. The GT was a coupé, while the Convertibile was obviously a cabriolet version (with optional hardtop). The GTL, introduced in 1962, was a 2+2 version of the GT with a slightly longer wheelbase. The Convertibile was in production until 1964, with 847 made in total (180 with the 2.8), while the GT and GTL lasted until 1965, with 1718 GTs and 300 GTLs made (out of which, 168 GTs and 297 GTLs with the 2.8).[1][2]

Sport and Super Sport

The Sport was built by Zagato, and was also a two-seater. It used the same shorter wheelbase chassis as the GT, and had a very distinctive rounded aluminium body with pop-out handles. The Super Sport replaced the Sport in 1964, with the introduction of the 2.8 L 152 bhp (113 kW) engine. The first Sports had flush covered headlights, later changed to more classic round ones. The Super Sport also saw some changes - the rear was updated to a Kammback, while the front was made more aerodynamic with distinctive tear-shape headlight casings. Until 1967, 593 Sports and Super Sports were built (99 Preseries, 344 Sports, 150 Supersports).[1][2]

335 (Presidenziale/Quirinale)

When in 1960 Queen Elizabeth II announced her visit to Italy, President Gronchi commissioned Pininfarina to deliver four stretched Lancia Flaminia limousines to appropriately service the visit (and also renew the dated presidential fleet). The cars were built in a record time of 6 months to a detailed specification, with the assistance of General Motors with regard to various electric extras. They were seven-seater landaulets, painted dark blue, with black Connolly Leather upholstery, Voxon radio and Pirelli tires.[1][2]

This model was officially called 335 (due to its 335 cm wheelbase), and was also referred to as Presidenziale or Quirinale (after Quirinal Palace, the residence of the President of the Italian Republic). Individual cars were called Belsito, Belmonte, Belvedere and Belfiore. President Ciampi donated one of them to the Museo dell'automobile in Turin, and kept the other three in occasional use. There were rumors of a fifth 335 being donated to the Queen, but this seems unsubstantiated.[3][4]

References

External links