1965 Lancia Flavia 1800

History

The Lancia Flavia was produced from 1961 through 1975, with a total of 105,848 examples produced. The design was courtesy of Professor Fessia and initially offered only as a four-door saloon. Mounted in the engine bay was an aluminum boxer engine that displaced 1.5 liters. Power was sent to the front wheels, with Dunlop discs being placed on all four corners. The saloon was soon joined by a Pininfarina-designed coupe sitting on a shortened wheelbase. Other coachbuilders were soon creating their own interpretation of the Flavia, including Vignale, who produced a two-door convertible, and Zagato created a two-door sports version constructed of lightweight design principles. The Vignale and Zagato versions would continue until Fiat took control of the company in the late 1960s, and these two were discontinued. At this time, the coupe and saloon versions were given new bodywork.

A 1.8-liter engine was introduced in 1963, featuring mechanical fuel injection using the Kugelfischer system and mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The engine was replaced in 1967 by a 2.0-liter version available as a carbureted or fuel-injection version. A four- or five-speed manual gearbox was also offered.

In the early 1970s, the Flavia was redesigned and renamed the Lancia 2000. This version featured Girling disc brakes which replaced the Dunlop version. The fuel-injected version of the engine used a Bosch D-Jetronic Analog-electro valve fuel injection system.

The Flavia 2.0-liter versions and the Flavia 2000 were only produced with Pininfarina Coupe and Lancia Sedan bodies.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2007