The Lancia Flavia coupe appeared in 1961 and stayed on sale with a name change until 1975. This is the first time I have ever seen one. Ever.
Lancia kept its models in production for a long time in the period before Fiat bought them. As I am not au fait with the intricacies of the Flavia’s history, I can only show these and ask some questions. The Flavia name retired in 1971 according to the commonly accepted history of the car. The name change to 2000 signified a face-lift and a new, bigger engine, going from 1.8 to 2.0 litres. According to Wikipedia the revised “2000” received the 2.0 engine in 1971. This body work is the Series 2 version. So, why does it say “Lancia Flavia” and “2000” on the boot? I found a 1971 car for sale with the same badges.
A former colleague of mine had one of these and raved about the senselessly expensive refinements (dual metal screws? the rifle-bolt gearchange?). Seen up close, I am a bit disappointed. I don’t like the chrome running past the black triangle aft of the side glass. The black bit is there to make the window line look different to the series 1 cars from 1961. Fine, but why carry on the chrome – it just hangs there.
I’m not mad about the way the chrome slats of the grille are finished. The HF version of the car is better: It has a chrome edge around the whole grille aperture. It reminds me of a Bristol 600-series but far nicer. The proportions don’t look so nice in these photos as I have seen in others. As a car with 1960’s architecture, they had a hard time make it fit into the increasingly angular and wedgy world of the 70’s.
It’s really another odd Lancia. You can see where the Gamma coupe tail-end design came from. Despite all this, I like the car. You can see that the Kappa coupe’s odd proportions are at least in the tradition of curiously unsuccessfully-styled cars. The saloon is, in the last analysis, a more satisfactory car.
The black and white plates are Danish. The car has been in the same hands since 1971 as it still has the old-style design. If it changes hands tomorrow it will be given a new registration, done in the current style.
I accept my revision ignores the car’s front-drive architecture. Still, it looks better and would have made a fine design for a Bristol.
Driven To Write 
If i would like to buy an old Lancia, I would go for the successor, the Lancia 2000 HF Coupé. Pininfarina did a better job in creating this car and the HF Coupé is known for its very good refinement and great interior. Look at the lovely headliner – i love such details:
http://static2.carsablanca.de/files/medias/Car/Lancia_2000_HF_Coupe_2000_IE_COUPE__3600_big.jpg?1280323266
That’s very appealing. Isn’t that on the same body?
The fellow I mentioned in the text (another Marcus) offered this insight on the car via pers. comm.:
“I suspect that rear script has most probably been added at some point. But I could be wrong…
Similarly, some later 916 Alfa GTVs have Pinin badges AND script on their sides, whereas the earlier ones don’t (because later cars were built at Pininfarina, not Arese….). People often add the Shield to earlier cars. I didn’t…
The two metals thing, was that the Lancia Flavia (and 2000) wheel bolt threads and shanks were copper-plated, to prevent them corrosion-welding to the alloy wheel rims and the steel hubs. Very expensive and very non FIAT!…
Needless to say, my Mk2 Beta’s wheel nuts were all steel. A retrograde FIAT influence. Maybe the early Mk1 Betas could have had coppery wheel bolts, though? It’s entirely possible. I’d quite like an early Beta Coupe or HPE now, with the very cool original seating design. Very rare nowadays, of course!
Forgot to mention that the 2000 Coupe also had an internal boot release lever, on the driver’s b-post. I can’t remember if there was actually an external lock in the bootlid or not. It might have been located on the rear panel somewhere…?”
My intention was to incorporate that into the article. Now seems a good time to drop it in. Thanks Marcus A. for that information.
Thanks for this post on one of my favourite cars. I used to get all the motor show guides as a kid and this lovely Lancia is seared in my memory from those (all colour!) pages. Sadly there are very few here in NZ though I have seen one or perhaps two. The solid stance is very appealing.
Hi There
A few comments. The Flavia was updated in 1969. Engine grew t0 1991 ccm. Hence the 2000 badge.
New dashboard design, new shorter gear lever, new brakes etc. and the design update.
The Lancia “Flavia 2000” was born. This version had a short lifespan.
From mid 1969 to somewhere in 1971. FIAT, having taken over a bankrupt Lancia late 1969,
then launched a “FIATished” version. The Lancia “2000” Full of FIAT parts, but still a very nice car.
BTW. The car shown here, is my car. I bought it in the Netherlands in 2009.
The black plates are available, at a price, as so called historical plates for pre 1976 cars.
Hi Henrik: Thanks for your message.
Why does it have both a 2000 and Flavia badge? I thought that the 2000 nameplate replaced the Flavia name.
Have you seen our other Lancia articles here? We have a Thesis review and a Trevi review, to name but two of quite a hoarde.
Hi Richard
I stumbled across this site because I saw a picture of my car in Google search. i haven’t explored it yet, but I will.
The Lancia Flavia, in it’s various incarnations, tend to confuse people.
Even members of Lancia clubs find the matter difficult. But it’s not 🙂
Coupes: There is the first version 1962-1968 with 1500 cc and later 1800 cc engines, a small upgrade to the dashboard in 1965/66. Otherwise identical. Late models could be had with Kugelfischer injection.
Second version 1969-1971, with updated design, brakes, etc. And ALWAYS with a 2000 cc engine.
Kugelfischer injection, power steering and radio as options.
End of the Flavia coupe story.
Then there is the Lancia 2000. The first Lancia without a proper name. It’s not a Flavia.
But it sure does look like one. To bridge the time gap between the old Lancias and the new FIAT/Lancias
In this case the Gamma. (The Beta was a successor to the Fulvia.) FIAT tried to breathe new life into the car.
Result: The Lancia 2000. A very nice car, but not a Flavia.
For simplicity, I left out the 4 door berlinas, the sport and the convertibele.
So to answer your question. It’s badged Flavia and 2000, because that is what it is.
The first version was also badged with name and engine size on the back. Just with another design.
1,5 or 1,8 instead of 1500 or 1800, and placed differently.
Br Henrik
Thanks Henrik: that clears things up quite nicely.
I trust you are not unhappy with your car’s secret life here. I was pleased to see it – my one and only sighting in real life.
The Lancia 2000: am I right in saying there was a saloon called just that? I may have conflated the saloon 2000 with the coupe.
Henrik: also, the plates. So, anyone can buy those? How long has that been the case?
You need to get out more. When I bought mine, it was the only running Flavia in DK.
Now there are at least 4 including mine: 3 Coupes and one Convertibel.
You can buy black plates for your car, if was first registered in 1976 or earlier. There is a precise dateline in 1976.
I am not sure, but i think it is somewhere around June/July. Later than that, it is not an option.
This black plate became available in 2009.
FIAT did in fact make a Lancia”2000″ berlina. Unlike the Coupes it looks radically different from its predecessor the “Flavia 2000”. There is, to my knowledge, only one in DK.
The owner, a good friend of mine, Arne. Has his own blog: http://klassisklancia.blogspot.dk/ (in danish)
He and his car lives in the Aarhus area.
Thanks for the tip. Like the somewhat flukey fortuitousness of finding a Trevi in Ireland (when I was visiting), that Denmark’s only 2000 saloon is nearby is a stroke of luck. I will try to contact Arne as I am very keen to do a report on this car. My only reference is a short item in Classic & Sportscar from several years ago.
I imagine a longer article on the saloon would constitute something of a public good as well as being beyond fascinating.
Also Henrik: I presume you’ve seen the Sommer museum collection in the Copenhagen area? Full of Lancias, it is. More than one would normally see in a day anyway.
I think you have a good chance with Arne. He likes people who takes an interest in his car.
I have been to Sommers car museum several times. I think he’s got 4 Lancias.
For the Lancia special exhibition in the winter 2014/15, he had a lot more.
Members of the DLR (Danish Lancia Registry) supplied the rest. My Flavia was there too.
Looking forward to your Lancia 2000 report.
That’s promising. I’ll try to contact him. You might like to warn him.
I’ve been twice to the Sommer museum. I find it hard to leave the first floor yet the basement has a lot of great vehicles too.
I have mailed him. I think you just ran into another flukey fortuitousness.
Tusind tak!
Just to emphasize and clarify from above: the coupe goes from its original Flavia name (and early design) to a redesign from 1969-71 as the Flavia 2000, now with the 2 liter engine. Then it is reintroduced as the 2000, which has the later detailing and the HF model (which is simply an upgraded finishes version, not sporting like the Fulvia HF).
Pick which one you like:
– Flavia coupe the early car has more detailed styling, a bit more vintage. Avail in 1.5 and 1.8 versions, with optional Kugelfischer injection. The early ones had odd instrumentation, the later (up to 1968) had the large two dials.
– Flavia 2000 (shown here) is first of the redesigns, a bit simpler, but still classy. IMHO the best of the later coupes, with the alum dash and simpler exterior.
– 2000 (1971 on…) had wooden dash, chrome around the front end, and some Fiat fittings. Also loses the small air intake scoop on the hood. Seems a bit flashier. Carb or Bosch injection.
The sedans are similar – with three versions:
– early sedan, quite unusual styling, more interesting as time goes on.
– “mille-otto”, with slightly oval grille, and rear lights as a strip along the back. Kamm rear, and slightly rounded boyish styling. Quite attractive.
– 2000, with shield grille, square instruments in wooden dash. Driven by Lauda in Rush. Should be the most sophisticated, but prefer the earlier one.
Thanks for this (and your earlier comment), Geoff. The Flavia berlina is a subject I might return to at some stage. Meanwhile, you might also be interested in the following. In addition, you will find a good deal of Lancia-related material in the archive. Thanks for stopping by.
https://driventowrite.com/2019/10/12/il-sarto-piemontese/
Thanks Eóin. Found a wonderful Supersport article in the archives, thanks to Richard Herriot from 2015. This is a nice site you have going – good writing and thinking. If I can be of any help on Flavia (or other Lancias) please feel free to reach out.