- Lancia Flaminia
Infobox Automobile
name = Lancia Flaminia
manufacturer =Lancia
parent_company =Fiat Group (since 1969)
production = 1957–1970
predecessor =Lancia Aurelia
successor =Lancia Gamma
class =Luxury car
platform =
layout =FR layout
body_style = 4-door sedan ("Lancia")
2-doorcoupé "(Pininfarina )"
2-doorcoupé ("Zagato ")
2-doorcoupé ("Touring")
2-door cabrio ("Touring")
4-doorlandaulet limousine "(Pininfarina )"cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20050324083750/www.carsfromitaly.com/lancia/index.html|title=CarsFromItaly.com Lancia pages (via the Wayback Machine)|accessdate=2006-05-13]
engine = 2.5 L OHC "Lancia V6"
2.8 L OHC "Lancia V6"
transmission = 4-speed manual
"Saxomat " semi-auto
wheelbase = Auto mm|2870 saloon
Auto mm|2515 coupé
length = Auto mm|4877 saloon
Auto mm|4496 coupé
width = Auto mm|1753 saloon
Auto mm|1651 coupé
height = Auto mm|1473 saloon
Auto mm|1295 coupé
track = Auto mm|1372 saloon
Auto mm|1372 coupé
weight = Auto kg|1430 saloon
Auto kg|1440
Pinin. coupé
aka =
fuel_economy =
fuel_capacity=
related =Lancia Aurelia
similar =Alfa Romeo 2600 Fiat 2300
Mercedes-Benz "Fintail"Vanden Plas Princess
designer =Pininfarina ,Zagato , TouringThe Lancia Flaminia is aluxury 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 sedan,coupé , cabrio, and a stretchedlimousine model was even created for official service. The Flaminia (save for the sedan) was a coachbuilt car with bodies from the most prestigious Italian coachbuilders. The demise of this model in 1970 left a void only filled byLancia Gamma in 1976.With only 12,633 sold over 13 years,cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/jeandebarsy/Welcome.html?994944423760|title=Jean de Barsy's Flaminia pages - production figures, famous owners|accessdate=2006-05-13] the Flaminias were truly exclusive and unique cars, and are very rare collectibles now. Interestingly, coupés outsold the 4-door variant by far, even in spite of shorter production run and coachbuilt bodies.
Name
Following the tradition of naming models after
Roman road s, the Flaminia was named afterVia Flaminia , the road leading fromRome to Ariminum (Rimini ).The Flaminia's chassis was a development of the Aurelia's, but was significantly upgraded. Most importantly, the front suspension was independent, with double wishbones,
coil spring s, telescopicshock absorber s, and ananti-roll bar . The rear suspension retained the De Dion setup, with atransaxle mounted at the rear as in the Aurelia. In the beginning, the Flaminia came withdrum brake s, but discs were substituted after the initial 500 or so cars were built.The body was developed by
Pininfarina and previewed by the Aurelia-based Florida prototypes. While the Florida I, presented at the 1956Turin Motor show , was a sedan withsuicide doors , the Florida II, presented a year later at theSalon International de l'Auto inGeneva , was a coupé, and becameBattista Farina s personal car of choice. The final production Lancia Flaminia was also shown in 1957.:"For more details, see
Lancia V6 engine The Flaminia's engine was an evolution of the world's firstV6 , which was introduced in the Aurelia. It had increasedbore and decreased stroke, and a much bigger displacement. The engines were mounted longitudinally, powering the rear wheels through a 4-speed rear-mountedtransaxle . An version with increased displacement was introduced in 1962.Berlina
basing on the Florida I prototype, this body was actually handbuilt by Lancia, as the only one for Flaminia. This was also 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 Sao Paolo as the last model to be built there.
The very first series had double wipers on the rear window (2 outside, 2 inside). These were deleted on the latter versions.Cite web|url=http://www.aboutmycar.com/category/car_history/history_of_makes/lancia/lancia-history-1609-p2.htm|title=Lancia History|accessdate=2007-06-28|work=aboutmycar.com]
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 and had a shortened wheelbase, as all 2-door versions. The Coupé has a front nearly identical to the Berlina, but the headlight frames are completely round, whereas they point slightly upwards in the sedan. 5,236 Coupés (4,151 with the 2.5, 1,085 with the 2.8) were built until 1967.
GT, GTL and Covertibile
Carrozzeria Touring designed and built those 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 only 3 GTLs with the 2.8).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. The Super Sport replaced the Sport in 1964, with the introduction of the 2.8 L 152 bhp engine. The Zagatos had the famous pop-out handles. 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 aKammback , 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).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
landaulet s, painted dark blue, with blackConnolly Leather upholstery, Voxon radio andPirelli tires.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 thePresident 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.cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/4car/feature/topten/presidential-limos/classic-presidential-limos-3.html|title=4Car Feature - Classic presidential limos|accessdate=2006-05-13] cite web|url=http://www.kwmotori.kataweb.it/kwmotori/kwm.jsp?idContent=769369&idCategory=902|title="Tutte le auto del presidente" from Kataweb Motori|accessdate=2006-05-13 It icon (viaGoogle Translate )]External links
* [http://www.lancisti.net/ Lancisti.net - An Information Exchange and Support Community for Lancia Owners and Enthusiasts]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.