The History of Lancia car maker & VIN decoder

The letters of the Greek alphabet were used for the names of many classic Lancia models. Until 1969, the company's cars were distinguished by advanced and original technical features. Thus, the Lambda of 1923 was the world's first mass-produced model with a body and frame made at the same time. Aprilia was an economical, technically advanced family car, while the postwar Flaminia, Flavia and Fulvia were very attractive cars, but for wealthier buyers.

For many years, Lancia used V-engines with a small angle of the cylinder block, and most of its models had a pronounced sporting character. Until the 1930s, output was very limited, as the Lancia family was more interested in original cars rather than mass production.

After the Second World War the policy of the company changed in favor of more mass cars such as Amelia (Aurelia), then Flavia and especially Fulvia. In the early 50's Lancia adopted an ambitious motorsport program. The company's highest achievement came with the Formula 1 'D50' cars that won the world championship.

But by this time the Lancia family was short of funds to finance new developments, the racing program was curtailed, and the firm itself was taken over by the Presenti family. Antonio Fessia was appointed technical director instead of Vittorio Jano. Thus began a significant expansion of the company, which introduced in the 60's complex front-wheel drive models Flavia medium and Fulvia small classes. Both were offered as sedans and sports cars.

Under the leadership of Cesare Fiorio, the company successfully returned to motorsport. A new assembly plant was built near Turin, but despite a significant increase in sales, the company was still not profitable.

The design of the Kappa Coupe is a reality of the mid 90's, which can not be compared with the fascinating Hyena of 1993 by Zagato. The concern rejected it most likely because it was based on the parts of the discontinued Delta Integrate and competed with the coupe of FIAT itself, as well as the Alfa Romeo GTV. For the Kappa range besides a wide choice of engines was offered a tempting array of devices of the latest technologies, including xenon headlights, the Bosch radio navigation system (Bosch), firstly installed on an Italian car, side airbags and front passenger presence detector. The latter, having detected that the seat was occupied, ensured that the front and side airbags would deploy if necessary. The customer could order leather upholstery and a power sunroof. When fitted with the 3-liter V6 engine, a self-tuning automatic transmission was offered with electronic controls and a built-in constant speed maintainer. The car was optionally equipped with adjustable dampers. The braking system, developed in conjunction with Brembo, was more responsive, had better feedback and less loss of effectiveness when it heated up.

In parallel with the Carr models, the company continued to produce the Dedra series, which eclipsed the Alfa 155 cars and was offered with sedan and wagon bodies. There was also a four-wheel drive version of the Integrale 4x4 station wagon. In the late '90s, the company also offered the 'd HRE HF' with the old 2-liter turbocharged engine and a small 'Y' model with 1.2-liter and 1.4-liter engines. Like most European car makers, Lancia launched the 6-seat 'Z' minivan, built as expected on the FIAT Ulysse platform with a 2-liter gasoline engine. Do not forget to use Lancia VIN decoder in order to avoid potential problems when buying a used car.

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