1935 Lancia Asutra

Vincenzo Lancia was the chief test driver for Fiat before founding his own company in 1906. The company's first vehicle was introduced a year later and by 1922, the first V8-engined Lancia appeared. The V8 Astrua and the V4-engined Artena were introduced in 1931, and these were the first Lancias to be named after Italian locations rather than the Greek alphabet. They were introduced at the Paris Salon as a replacement for the revolutionary but aging Lambda and Dilambda models. The Astura was named after a castle on a small island near Nettuno on Italy's west coast. Similar to the Dilambda, the Astura was equipped with a narrow-angle V8 engine, and by the introduction of the 3rd Series in 1933, the engine displacement had grown to nearly 3 liters and an even narrower angle of 17 degrees. The 4th Series featured a longer unitary chassis that was perfectly suited for some of the finest coachwork of the period.

The first series Astura production was produced between 1931 and 1932 with 496 units made. The Second series, which used modified engine mounts for reduced noise and vibration, was built from 1932 to 1933 with 750 examples made. The 3rd series was produced from 1933 to 1937 with 1,243 units made. The fourth and final series was built from 1937 to 1939 with 423 units made. Production ended in 1939, although a few were finished during the war.

The 2,606cc single-overhead camshaft eight-cylinder engine of the Series 1 and 2 used a single carburetor and produced 72 horsepower. The Series 3 and Series 4 had a 2,973cc eight-cylinder engine with a single carburetor and 82 horsepower. Series 1 and 2 models rested on a 125.2-inch wheelbase platform; the Series 3 could be purchased with either a 122 or 131.1-inch platform; and the Series 4 had a larger, 137-inch wheelbase.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021