How do you describe your Lancia to your friends?

[frankxhv773t]

One thing I like to point out is that for the 100th anniversary of the motor car all the journalists of the European car magazines voted on the most significant 100 cars of the first 100 years of motoring. Most manufacturers got something in, like Vauxhall with the Prince Henry, and all the great marques got a second car in, like Ferrari and Porsche. Only one manufacturer got more than two cars selected which was Lancia and they didn't get three cars voted in but four!

I think that about sums it up.

[ColinMarr]

I am interested to see a comparison being made between the B20 and the Aston Martin DB. The 6th Series B20 that I owned in the early 1990s was used in a back-to-back test with an Aston DB MkIII. This was the subject of an article in Classic & Sportscar in July 1995, written by a certain M Buckley. I had the pleasure of also driving the Aston, which was an eye-opener – lots of grunt from a superb engine, but oh so heavy and ponderous compared to the B20. See my snaps from the day and the final words of the article.

Colin

[rogerelias]

Nice pics Colin, bet you wish you had kept that one

[bobhenry999]

Chaps,

I have a Flavia 815 Coupe, and some more knowledgeable people comment on it`s similarity to an early Ferrari 250GTE, particularly in profile, which is of course understandable.

However, I have lost count of the number of people who have said "Is it a Volvo ?" I kid you not !

I can only assume that they are referring to the Volvo P1800 coupes as used by a certain Simon Templar back in the day, but I still can`t see the resemblance for the life of me !

Bob

[smithymc]

This issue takes on a whole new complexion when you own a Beta, as so many people have already made up their mind about them based on the perceived pub-wisdom about the r..t issue. That seems to prevent any serious consideration for many, but perhaps they are the many that don't really matter to those of us who do this for our own reasons beyond investment.

However, when I showed my car at Manchester this year, I was fascinated by the reaction, both in person and by people watching. Some people marched past without even any eye contact with the car, but a surprising number, Lancia fans or not, wanted to talk about it. In those conversations, I pointed out the next stand of Mark 2 Escorts, now worth a small fortune, any which would have struggled to beat even my 1600 coupe in the day. People were amazed by the level of sophistication- discs all round, laminated screen, 5 speed etc etc, and many just seemed really pleased just to have seen one, such is their scarcity on the roads.

That in itself was enough for me.

Mark

[DavidLaver]

For me the Beta is the car Fiat and Abarth ENGINEERS would have made while the accountants and marking department were looking the other way.  The Beta Coupe is the car I'd wanted for years as my first car...I ended up with an Alfasud and then a Mini Cooper and then a Fiat Coupe.  At that time I wasn't brave enough to even consider trying to run a Fulvia.  People who did had special tools, a private scrap yard of donor vehicles, and contacts.  A Beta looked possible with a Halford's tool kit and a local motor factors.

David

[josefewald]

A very interesting topic indeed!

I totally disagree with Robert Coucher of Octane. We would all drive MGB, E-Type, 356 and Pagoda. But obviously thanks to Octane-people the classic car world almost looks like this.....

I suggest to compare Lancia to Bugatti.
This will not give an answer but it will open up the minds and the interest. Who knows what a Bugatti is?

But certainly the best is a quotation by Adolf Loos, eminently influential architect of the early 20th century - loosely translated: Whereas the communist wants to turn everyone into a proletarian, I want to turn everyone into an aristocrat.

Don't you feel like this when driving your Lancia?

Josef