Lancia Motor Club

Today was the last long trip of the year for EBP 209, from Portsmouth to West London. I was picking the Aprilia up after getting the clutch fixed after 2 years of quite violent juddering on take-up which I initially thought was old flexible couplings then bad technique and so on. Finally after replacing one and persevering the other I had to face the fact that it was engine-out and look at the clutch itself.

The culprit turned out to be a badly-relined and defectively-rivetted clutch pressure plate than would never have operated satisfactorily from the word go. A new Cavallito plate has wrought miracles.

Driving back today at 70/75 mph (on today's [comparatively] ultra smooth road surfaces) I was thinking about the transformation of car design in the 15 years between the early-vintage period and the Aprilia in 1937. In evidence and comparison I offer the 8hp 1-litre 1922 Talbot  -  ladder chassis, rear-wheel brakes only, 45 to 50 mph top speed, max capacity 2 people,fairly primitive post-Edwardian design philosophy. Price new £350.

Fifteen years later  -  the Aprilia, price new £335.

I rest my case.
Nick

I suspect that you are deliberately poking a stick at Lambda owners here; the fact that Talbot were still building Edwardian motor cars in 1922 is hardly a fair comparison. The Lambda that appeared at Olympia in 1922 offered monocoque construction, a very generous four seat body with detachable hard top, independent front suspension, four wheel brakes, it claimed 28 mpg and, on test, on poor roads, four up, exceeded 70 mph and covered a measured mile at 66 mph.

Having said that, it did cost around £650 and though there are superficial similarities in the suspension and arrangement of the engine, the Augusta/Aprilia seem to be from a different planet to the Lambda.  The main difference is in production engineering with comprehensive steel body pressings and economies in the production of the engine, gearbox and transmission; for example the roller bearing cam followers of the Lambda which are good for a couple of hundred thousand miles gave way to simple shoes which seem to last about a fortnight. But if I had to drive to Turin tonight it would probably be in an Aprilia......

John

Using the Bank of England inflation calculator the Lambda would be £28,800 today, the Aprilia £17,800.

David

Strange, these were top end cars but by today's prices you'd only get a 3 series BMW and a Golf. Modern cars are so expensive! I suppose the difference is incomes?

Whereas my 25k integrale in 1993 would now cost 40k ... which is a lot for a small family hatchback (ok, slightly modified!)

And my 1971 1600HF (at £2374.38 list price) would cost £27,483.02 today new. Which one would I buy???

Tim

John,
Actually, I did not have the Lambda in mind ....  and I could lose my heart to a Casaro-bodied early series car !

No, I selected the 1922 Talbot 8/18 because I have just bought one   -  and it is a little primitive ! By the standards of the day, well-designed (engine by Louis Coatalen) and well-made in West London at Barlby Rd. I want to take part in some of the VSCC Light Car Section events  ....  they do seem to have a lot of fun.

I just remind myself every time I do a reasonable journey in modern traffic what a fantastically useable car the Aprilia is .... and you are right, a trip to Turin would have to be in an Aprilia.
Nick

or the availability of credit! Although my fathers 1927 Douglas EW350 motorcycle was offered by Douglas with a hire purchase finance arrangment so maybe nothings new.

I always thought that the Fulvia was more expensive that a Jag : meaning that now a Jag is very expensive or it was very cheap then ?

They were if wikipedia is anything to go by:

An open 3.8-litre car, actually the first such production car to be completed, was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1961 and had a top speed of 149.1 mph (240.0 km/h) and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 7.1 seconds. A fuel consumption of 21.3 miles per imperial gallon (13.3 L/100 km; 17.7 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £2,097 including taxes.[13]

Tim