1951 Lancia Aurelia B50 Convertible

This 1951 Lancia Aurelia B50 Convertible is very unique with coachwork courtesy of Pininfarina. It has a grey body shell with a chocolate-gray leather interior. The convertible top is black. Mounted in the front is a 1754 cc six-cylinder engine that produces 56 horsepower. The four-speed manual gearbox sends power to the rear wheels while drum brakes provide adequate stopping power. It is a right-hand drive vehicle with a sliding pillar front suspension and independent in the rear.

In 1960 the Lancia Company was born after Vincenzo Lancia left Fiat in pursuit of building his own version of the automobile. The vehicle he built gained a reputation for being built to the highest quality that enveloped style and sophistication.

After Vincenzo's death, the company was run by his son Gianni. Gianni continued the tradition established by his father and the success of the company continued to climb.

The Lancia Aurelia was one of the company's first offerings after the war. The design was by Vittorio Jano, who is well known for his work at Alfa Romeo. The B10 sedan was joined by the B20GT Coupe in 1951. The V6 engine was enlarged and that was just the beginning of the performance improvements. The B10 was impressive for is time with its four-speed synchromesh gearbox and in-board mounted rear brakes. It introduced the first semi-trailing arm rear suspension layout and the pillarless unit body was equally as impressive. The B20GT raised performance even further by dropping the weight and being fitted to a shorter wheelbase. The B24 Spider America was introduced in 1954 with a total of 240 examples produced. It was short-lived and replaced in 1955 by the B24 Convertible.

Custom coachbuilding was popular until World War II. Manufacturers were responsible for creating a rolling chassis and the rest of the vehicle was left up to the purchaser to customize. Coachbuilding was an art where each body was often specially created for the purchaser and built to their desires and specifications. Lancia continued this tradition after World War II with their B50 which sat on a longer wheelbase than the B10 sedan. The 1754cc single-carbureted engine was still standard.

Italian coachbuilding firms such as Vignale, Castagna, Bertone, Ghia, Boneschi and Viotti created custom creations. Most were produced in limited numbers from 5 to 25. Many agree that the Pininfarina creations were among the most desirable and elegant. The 2+2 convertibles were the most popular of the coach-built Aurelias with a total of 265 examples being produced.

The example shown is believed to have been the 1951 Geneva Motor Show Car.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2010