Lancia Flavia

Lancia Flavia History

The classic Lancia Flavia was developed by Professor Fessia in the late 1950's, and introduced for sale in the UK in 1961. Initially available only as a four door classic, it featured a 1.5 L aluminium boxer engine, Dunlop disc brakes on all four wheels, front wheel drive and front suspension by unequal length wishbones. This model was soon joined by a two door coupé, designed by Pininfarina on a shortened platform. Vignale built a two door convertible, while Zagato designed an outlandish-looking light weight two door "sport" version. The sport version had twin carburetors for extra power , however this version of the engine was notoriously difficult to keep in tune. 
Later development of the engine included an enlargement to 1.8 L, with mechanical injection version using the Kugelfischer system, and a five speed manual gearbox. Towards the end of the sixties, when Fiat took control of the company, the Vignale and Zagato versions were discontinued. The coupé and saloon versions received new bodywork, first presented in March 1969 at the classic Geneva motor show . The engine increased to 2.0 litre, available with carburetor or injection, and four or five speed gearbox. The 2.0 Litre models were only made with revised Pininfarina Coupe and revised Lancia saloon bodies.