Latest Information on Lancia

Lancia is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It was founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia as Lancia & C Fabbrica Automobili. It was taken over by the Fiat Group in 1969 and currently trades as Lancia Automobiles S.p.A., as of 2007. Lancia vehicles are no longer sold outside of Italy, and its product portfolio is limited to the Ypsilon supermini range. The company once had strong rally heritage and was known for using letters of the Greek alphabet in its product names. History of Lancia The original company, Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili, was founded by Fiat racing drivers - Vincenzo Lancia (1881-1937) and his friend, Claudio Fogolin (1872-1945). The first car they produced was the ""Tipo 51"" or ""12 HP"" between 1907 to 1908. It was powered by a small four-cylinder engine that put out 28 hp/21 kW. Lancia became well-known for introducing cars with various innovations. The first was European production of a car called Theta that featured a complete electrical system as standard equipment in 1913. Lancia's first car also adopted a monocoque chassis which was produced by Lambda. Another innovation to follow was the first 5-speed gearbox on the Series 3 Ardea production car. Then, in 1950 it released the first full-production V6 engine in the Aurelia. Reports also have Lancia as the first manufacturer to produce a V4 engine. The list of innovations go on as the automaker constant quest for excellence, a fixation on quality, and complex construction processes. However, over time the cost of production continued to rise extensively, while demand for its vehicles did not. This ultimately affected Lancia's sustainability. After the Fiat take-over, several models were launched with the Lancia name as Fiat wished to preserve the automaker’s image. Models such as the Beta, Gamma and Stratos were launched in the 70s. Between the 70s and 80s Lancia experienced great success in rally and won several World Rally Championships. The 80s saw joint ventures with SAAB Automobile and Lancia models were rebadged as SAAB vehicles and sold in different markets. Some models between SAAB, Fiat and Alfa Romeo even shared platforms. From the 90s, Lancia vehicles were closely correlated with Fiat models.