|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |  | View more photos Designer: Pininfarina Chassis Num: 0005 |
Gianni Lancia authorized his sports car program in the summer of 1952. The first D20s made their debut in the Mille Miglia of April, 1953, and the first D24s at Nurburgring that August. The ultimate D24, with completely new chassis and engine, would emerge in the spring of 1954. This amazing technical feat saw Lancia D20 and D24 cars win three Targa Florio classics, Mexico's Carrera PanAmericana, and the Italian Mille Miglia.
The career of the D-series Lancia Sport was as short as it was brilliant. This car, series '0005', equipped with a 3284-cc, V6 260 horsepower engine, with a top speed of 160 mph, made its debut in the 1954 Sebring 12 Hour classic, co-driven by Juna Fangio/Eugenio Castellotti, before scoring three consecutive victories.
In 1955, Lancia presented the car to President Peron of Argentina, who raced it nationally. It was returned to Italy in 1980 and restored. It is one of only two D24 cars in existence, the other being in the Lancia Museum, and is truly one of the greatest icons of sports-racing history.
In 1906 Italian Vincenzo Lancia entered into the automobile production business. When Vincenzo passed away in 1937 his son Gianni Lancia took control of the company. The Lancia brand automobiles would be produced until 1969 when they were merged with the Fiat Company. The Lancia Company is renowned for their innovations, designs, and inventions. Their accomplishments in racing, especially rally events, are also noteworthy. Their victories in Grand Prix racing were monumental but also forced the program to be sold to Ferrari.
After World War II a war torne Europe was ready to get back to racing. Gianni Lancia hired Vittorio Jano to aid in the deisgn of a new vehicle and to establish a racing program. Within a short amount of time the Aurelia was introduced which featured an independent suspension and a six-cylinder engine. A competition version soon followed which was powered by a modified version of the V6 engine. The Lancia Aurelia B20 GT racing car quickly amassed many impressive wins including impressive class wins in rally events. This success brought enthusiasm to the racing program and the company embarked on a mission to create a racer that could compete for overall wins. The result was the D20 which were ready by early 1953. Under the bonnet was the V6 engine that had received much attention and now shared little with its production version. Displacement was increased to three-liters and horsepower rose to nearly 250. To handle this amount of power the suspension, chassis, and braking were revised. The tubular space-frame chassis was now suspended in place by an independent suspension comprised of wishbones. While many of the mechanical designs were handled by Jano, who had experience with Alfa Romeo's racing program, the body construction was left to Pininfarina. The result was a lightweight body in coupe design.
When the flag dropped at the start of the Mille Miglia, there were four Lancia cars in contention. Competition proved to be very fierce and only one of the D20's was able to crack to top three. Though the Lancia's proved to be agile and competitive, more was needed to become a contender for an overall victory. The decision was made to adapt a supercharger to the engine. At Le Mans the D20's were poised for a victory. Sadly, this would not be as all three cars retired prematurely. The extra horsepower had been detrimental to the vehicles reliability.
Additional work to improve the vehicle resulted in the D23. These changes included the removal of the superchargers and the coupe body abandoned in favor of an open configuration. Jano continued to work on an improved version of the vehicle that was more powerful and lighter while still retaining a high level of durability and reliability. The engine was enlarged to 3.3 liters which increased horsepower to around 265. The wheelbase was decreased slightly in an effort to improve handling and to shed some weight. The result of all this work was the D24.
The D24 was debuted at Monza but failed to provide a podium finish for the Lancia team. This would be the start of a season plagued with mechanical problems that would force the vehicles to retire prematurely. There were some highlights to the 1953 season which included first, second, and third place finishes at Carrera Pan Americana. A pair of victories at the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio were additional highlights. At the conclusion of the season the company switched their efforts to the Grand Prix program. Their D50 would go on to capture the victories the Lancia Company had so desperately coveted. This endeavor brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy resulting in Gianni to leave the company. The Grand Prix Company was later bought by Ferrari.
The career of the D-series Lancia Sport was as short as it was brilliant. The car - serial '0005' - made its debut in the 1954 Sebring 12-Hours classic, co-driven by Juan Fangio/Eugenio Castelloti, before scoring three consecutive victories - two driven by 'The Silver Fox' (Piero Taruffi) and one by that other great snowy-haired Italian veteran 'Gigi' Villoresi. Early in 1955 Lancia presented this car to President Peron of Argentina, who had it raced nationally in blue-and-yellow Argentine livery. Returned to Italy in the 1980s '0005' was then restored to running order for the late Count Vittorio Zanon. It is one of only two D24 cars in existence, the other being in the Lancia Museum, and is truly one of the greatest icons of sports-racing history.
After World War II a war torne Europe was ready to get back to racing. Gianni Lancia hired Vittorio Jano to aid in the deisgn of a new vehicle and to establish a racing program. Within a short amount of time the Aurelia was introduced which featured an independent suspension and a six-cylinder engine. A competition version soon followed which was powered by a modified version of the V6 engine. The Lancia Aurelia B20 GT racing car quickly amassed many impressive wins including impressive class wins in rally events. This success brought enthusiasm to the racing program and the company embarked on a mission to create a racer that could compete for overall wins. The result was the D20 which were ready by early 1953. Under the bonnet was the V6 engine that had received much attention and now shared little with its production version. Displacement was increased to three-liters and horsepower rose to nearly 250. To handle this amount of power the suspension, chassis, and braking were revised. The tubular space-frame chassis was now suspended in place by an independent suspension comprised of wishbones. While many of the mechanical designs were handled by Jano, who had experience with Alfa Romeo's racing program, the body construction was left to Pininfarina. The result was a lightweight body in coupe design.
When the flag dropped at the start of the Mille Miglia, there were four Lancia cars in contention. Competition proved to be very fierce and only one of the D20's was able to crack to top three. Though the Lancia's proved to be agile and competitive, more was needed to become a contender for an overall victory. The decision was made to adapt a supercharger to the engine. At Le Mans the D20's were poised for a victory. Sadly, this would not be as all three cars retired prematurely. The extra horsepower had been detrimental to the vehicles reliability.
Additional work to improve the vehicle resulted in the D23. These changes included the removal of the superchargers and the coupe body abandoned in favor of an open configuration. Jano continued to work on an improved version of the vehicle that was more powerful and lighter while still retaining a high level of durability and reliability. The engine was enlarged to 3.3 liters which increased horsepower to around 265. The wheelbase was decreased slightly in an effort to improve handling and to shed some weight. The result of all this work was the D24.
The D24 was debuted at Monza but failed to provide a podium finish for the Lancia team. This would be the start of a season plagued with mechanical problems that would force the vehicles to retire prematurely. There were some highlights to the 1953 season which included first, second, and third place finishes at Carrera Pan Americana. A pair of victories at the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio were additional highlights. At the conclusion of the season the company switched their efforts to the Grand Prix program. Their D50 would go on to capture the victories the Lancia Company had so desperately coveted. This endeavor brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy resulting in Gianni to leave the company. The Grand Prix Company was later bought by Ferrari.
The career of the D-series Lancia Sport was as short as it was brilliant. The car - serial '0005' - made its debut in the 1954 Sebring 12-Hours classic, co-driven by Juan Fangio/Eugenio Castelloti, before scoring three consecutive victories - two driven by 'The Silver Fox' (Piero Taruffi) and one by that other great snowy-haired Italian veteran 'Gigi' Villoresi. Early in 1955 Lancia presented this car to President Peron of Argentina, who had it raced nationally in blue-and-yellow Argentine livery. Returned to Italy in the 1980s '0005' was then restored to running order for the late Count Vittorio Zanon. It is one of only two D24 cars in existence, the other being in the Lancia Museum, and is truly one of the greatest icons of sports-racing history.
| Carrera PanamericanaThe Carrera Panamericana was raced from 1950 through 1954. It was held on open roads in Mexico that ran from a southern Mexican west-coast city towards Texas. The race was formed to celebrate the competition of the Panamerican Highway. It was a multi-staged race across the country that counted towards the World Sportscar Championship. The race saw entrants from factory teams, privateers, and amateurs. On average, only one-third of the entrants were able to finish the race. The race was canceled after the 1955 LeMans fatal disaster, where a car went into the crowd killing over 80 spectators. The fatal accident by Bill Vukovick at Indianapolis secured the decision to no longer run the race. The first cars to run the race had top speeds of around 100 mph. By 1954, the cars were easily running at 170 mph. The vehicles were not adequately designed to protect the drivers at speeds this great. Being run on open roads meant that many areas of the course could not be managed; live stock, people, obstacles, and a number of other scenarios could make their ways into the road and cause disaster. The decision to cancel the race was sad, but necessary. |
| Targa FlorioThe first of the classic road races was the Targa Florio which began in 1906 and continued off-and-on until 1976. The first course was three laps on a 92-mile course in the Madonie Mountains. As the years progressed, the course was changed due to floods, earthquakes, and some of the roads' poor maintenance. Just prior to the First World War, the course traversed the perimeter of the island. Regardless of the course, the challenges were ever present. Handling and reliability often won out over the higher horsepower entrants as the treacherous mountain courses were better suited to the nimble cars that could negotiate the narrow passageways and sharp, unforgiving turns. |
| Mille MigliaThe Mille Miglia was first run in 1927 and quickly became a highlight for entrants, spectators, and enthusiasts. The first race featured around seventy-five starters, all of which were Italian. The race occurred twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957; thirteen were run before the war and eleven from 1947 onward. The cars were separated by one minute intervals with the professional, large displacement cars running first. In 1938 an accident occurred killing 23 spectators. It was not until 1947 before the race was resumed. The number of entrants swelled to nearly 250, with around 160 starting the race. The race came to an end in 1957 as a car went into the crowd, killing his co-driver and several spectators. Another sad end to a legendary race. |
| Photos grouped by event | ||
|
Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance |
The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering |
Monterey Historic Automobile Races |
1954 Lancia D24 Sport Spyder |
|
| Year | 1954 |
| Make | Lancia |
| Model | D24 Sport Spyder |
| Engine Location | Front |
| Drive Type | Rear Wheel |
| Body Designer | Pininfarina |
| Weight | 760 kg | 1675.8 lbs |
| Combined MPG | 0.00 |
| Chassis / Engine Numbers Shown | |
| Chassis Number | 0005 |
| Chassis Number | 003 |
| Performance | |
| Top Speed | 265 km/h | 164.7 mph Similar top speeds |
| Engine | |
| Engine Configuration | V |
| 60-degree | |
| Cylinders | 6 |
| Aspiration/Induction | Normal |
| Displacement | 3.30 L | 201.4 cu in. | 3300.9 cc. |
| Valves | 24 valves. 4 valves per cylinder. |
| Valvetrain | DOHC |
| Horsepower | 262.00 BHP (192.8 KW) @ 6200.00 RPM |
| HP to Weight Ratio | 6.4 LB / HP (Vehicles with similar ratio) |
| HP / Liter | 79.4 BHP / Liter |
| Fuel Type | Gasoline - Petrol |
| Fuel Feed | Carburetor |
| 3 Weber 46 DCF 3 carburetors | |
| Vehicles with similar horsepower and weight | |
| Standard Transmission | |
| Gears | 4 |
| Transmission | Manual |
| Mounted behind the differential | |
| View more photographs |
| View Specifications |
| Similar Automakers |
| Add Review |
| Other models by Lancia |
 |
| Related Articles and Event Coverage |
| Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance |
| The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering |
| Monterey Historic Automobile Races |
| 1954 Lancia models |
| Aurelia Series IV B20 |
| D50 | 1954 Lancia Concepts |
| Lancia Aurelia PF200 |
| Vehicle Spotlight | ||
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
