Lancia Flaminia

The Flaminia was named after the Via Flaminia, the road leading from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini). This respected the established Lancia tradition of naming individual models after Roman roads.^[4]

The Flaminia's chassis was a development of the Aurelia's, but was significantly upgraded. The front suspension was changed to a more conventional configuration with double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers, and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension retained the De Dion setup, with a transaxle mounted at the rear as in the Aurelia. The first Berlina was available with drum brakes or disc brakes, all other models used disc brakes only. They benefitted from the Pirelli Cinturato 165H400 CA67radial tyre technology.

The original two bodies of the Flaminia were developed by Italian automobile design house Pinin Farina and modelled after two Aurelia-based motor show specials also developed by the same, named Florida. The Florida I, presented at the 1955 Turin Auto Show, was a saloon with rear suicide doors. The Florida II, presented a year later at the Salon International de l'Auto in Geneva, was a 2-door coupé, and became Battista Farina's personal car of choice. The production version of the Flaminia debuted in 1957.^[2]

The car was designed by Battista Farina, which later also used this design as the basis for the BMC Farina models, which included the Austin Westminster, the most similarly sized BMC car to the Lancia Flaminia.

The Flaminia's engine was an evolution of the world's first production V6, which was introduced in the Aurelia. It had increased bore and decreased stroke. The engines were mounted longitudinally, powering the rear wheels through a 4-speed rear-mounted transaxle. A version with increased displacement was introduced in 1962.^[2]

The Flaminia Berlina prototype was unveiled at the Turin Auto Show in March 1957. It differed from the production version by having Florida-inspired suicide rear doors that opened opposite to the front doors.^[5] The saloon version of the car was generally designated by the Italian word for this body style, Berlina. Designed by Pininfarina and based on the Florida I prototype, this was the only body style to be built by Lancia themselves, as well as becoming the only body style to last through the entire production period. 3,344 cars were built with the 2.5 L engine, and an additional 599 with the 2.8 L version of the V6 engine. They were assembled at Lancia's old facility at Borgo San Paolo as the last model to be built there.^[2][3]

The Coupé was also designed by Pininfarina, but was built by the coachbuilder and not at a Lancia factory. It was very similar to the Florida II prototype with a 2+2 seating layout. Like all the other 2-door versions, the Coupé had a shortened wheelbase relative to the Berlina. The front end of the Coupé does not majorly differ from the Berlina, but the headlight frames are completely round, whereas they point slightly upwards in the Berlina. The Coupé was also fitted with the unusual 175HR400 Pirelli Cinturato CA67 millimetric tyres. 5,236 cars (4,151 with the 2.5-litre engine and 1,085 with the 2.8-litre engine) were built until 1967.^[2][3]

The GT, GTL, and Convertibile models of the Flaminia were designed and built by Carrozzeria Touring with the bodies made from aluminium. These body styles can be easily distinguished by their four round headlights (rather than two on Pininfarina-designed Flaminias), and a shorter cabin - the wheelbase was decreased significantly for the GT and Convertibile, allowing for only a two-seater layout. The GTL, introduced in 1962, was a 2+2 version of the GT with a slightly longer wheelbase. The Convertibile was in production until 1964, with 847 cars made in total (180 made with the 2.8-litre engine), while the GT and GTL were in production until 1965, with production totaling 1,718 cars for the GT and 300 cars for the GTL (out of which, 168 GTs and 297 GTLs were made with the 2.8-litre engine).^[2][3]

The Sport was designed and built by Italian coach builder Zagato, and was also a two-seater coupé. It used the same shorter wheelbase chassis as the GT and had a very distinctive rounded aluminium body with pop-out handles. It was featured in the Ian Fleming novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.^[6] The Super Sport replaced the Sport in 1964, with the introduction of the 2.8 L 152 CV (112 kW; 150 hp) engine. The first Sport models had flush covered headlights, later changed to more classic round ones. The Super Sport also saw some changes - the rear was updated to a Kammback design, while the front was made more aerodynamic with distinctive tear-shape headlight casings. Until 1967, 593 Sport and Super Sport models were built (99 initial cars with flush headlamps, 344 Sports and 150 Supersports).^[2][3]

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  Front of Flaminia Sport Zagato, first series (note covered headlights)
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  Front of Flaminia Sport Zagato, second series (1960)
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  Rear of Flaminia Sport Zagato, second series (1963)
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  Front of Flaminia Super Sport Zagato (1964)
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  Rear of Flaminia Super Sport Zagato (1965)