1946 Lancia Aprilia

History

The Lancia brand gained fame for its innovation in the auto industry. The Aprilia was introduced in 1937 and was one of the original designs utilizing wind tunnels in a joint effort with Battista Farina and Politecnico di Torino. The end result was a record low drag coefficient of 0.47.

In February of 1937, Vincenzo Lancia, engineer and the founder of Lancia, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 55. He was responsible for the creation of groundbreaking models like the Lambda and Aprilia. The beautiful Aprilia entered into full production in February, the same month of Vincenzo's death. This was the final of Vincenzo's designs and the last featuring four pillar-less doors.

Quite possibly the most advanced prewar sedan, the monocoque Aprilia continued in production for more than 10 years. Featuring an all-independent suspension, a narrow-angle V4 engine with overhead cam, hydraulic brakes, and pillar-less doors. It had a top speed of 80mph. The coach-built cabriolet body style was Berlina. It had a wheelbase of 108 inches, an overall length of 155.9 inches, a width of 57.9 inches, and a curb weight of 1,984 lbs. It featured independent suspension all round, an aluminum V4 engine, hydraulic brakes, and drum brakes placed near to the differential at the rear.

The first series ran from 1937 until 1939 and had a total production run of 10,354 units. This series featured a 1,352 cc V4 motor engine that produced 47 bhp. The second series ran from 1939 until 1949 and featured a total production run of 9,728 models. The engine capacity was heightened to 1,486 cc that produced 48 bhp. During the second series, a Lusso model was offered to the public along with a 'lungo' or lengthened chassis version. A total of 706 units of these 'lungo' models were produced from 1946 until 1949.

The production total of the Lancia Aprilia was 20,082 models and 7,554 additional chassis for coach-built bodies. These were all produced in Turin, Italy, along with around 700 units in France.

The Aprilia was offered with the steering wheel on the right side, even in markets where manufacturers usually had left-hand drive cars. Though outside of Sweden and the UK most customers tended to pick the optional left-hand drive version.

By Jessica Donaldson