Lancia Fulvia V4 – Driven To Write

The Big Reveal/Confirmation

It seems unfair to keep you on tenterhooks so I have decided to reveal/confirm the identity of today’s mystery car.

It is, of course, a Lancia Fulvia saloon, produced from 1963 to 1976 which really is a very long time indeed. The Fulvia was still good when it ceased production but the market’s tastes had changed. While everyone adores the admittedly perky, perty and pretty Fulvia Coupé, and many like the odd Zagato derivatives, I hold a candle for the austere and formal saloon, attributed to Piero Castagnero at Lancia’s Centro Stile. This and a few other cars suggested to me that if you want to Continue reading “The Big Reveal/Confirmation”

Call Forth The Ravens And See Them Soar

After a binge of new car news and debate on Geneva, it’s time for a little retrospection: let’s Lancia.

The Danish magazine Motor Classic tempted me and I paid up. It lured me with a feature on the Fiat 124 Special T, Alfa Romeo Giulia and the Lancia Fulvia Berlina. The article argued all were cheaper alternatives to their coupé cousins.

The author characterised the Fiat as the “underknown sportsman”; the Alfa is portrayed as the “playboy from Milan” and not surprisingly the Lancia they called the “noble professor”. It was also called a “cult car for connoisseurs”. What more did they write?

Continue reading “Call Forth The Ravens And See Them Soar”

Theme: Engines – The Greatest?

Italy’s engineering giants slug it out for your entertainment.

Given the size of the Italian motor industry by comparison to say, the United States or Germany, it’s difficult to compile a list of the great engine designers without coming to the conclusion that Italy has historically punched well above its weight. The fact that most of them were schooled through Italy’s once thriving aeronautical industry says as much about the era from which they emerged as the political and socio-economic causes, but either way, Italy’s contribution to the pantheon of notable engines is undeniable. Continue reading “Theme: Engines – The Greatest?”