More than an old car #164: Lancia Fulvia

Some time back, I went to ask my viewers about what cars they would like to see on this page. I'll start working on some of them soon, but please do forgive for the lower content output: sometimes one may not be in the mood for things, you know? This 1969 Lancia Fulvia Rallye 1.3 HF was one of the suggestions that popped up, and it was something that I wanted to write about for some time...

The Fulvia was first introduced in 1963 where it replaced the aging Appia. Named after Via Fulvia, an ancient Roman road leading from Tortona to Turin, it featured a front-wheel drive design and shared almost no components from its predecessor. Initially available only as a 4-door sedan (berlina), it was deemed to be rather plain an 'not elegant', although it found some success in rallying.  

The coupe was introduced in 1965, where it immediately became a huge commercial success due to its sporty look. Designed in-house by Pierro Castagnero, its design was inspired by the Riva brand of motorboats and is technically a 2+2 seater sports berlinetta. It was first available in a 1216 cc engine, which was enlarged to 1231 cc in 1967. During that time, Lancia introduced an enhanced version of the Fulvia known as the HF: it was visually distinguished by the removal of the bumpers and a yellow-blue painted stripe on the bonnet and roof. On top of that, the bodywork was lightened by the use of Peraluman alloy and Plexiglas for the rear window. 

The engine capacity was further increased to 1584 cc in 1969 under the direction of Cesare Florio, and these cars were known as 'Fanalones' due to the larger inner headlights. Fulvias after 1970 were facelifted, featuring a thinner grille and export versions had raised external headlights. A final facelift occured in 1974, known as the Fulvia 3 which featured matte black grilles and headlight frames. This Fulvia HF was powered by a 1298 cc Lancia V4 engine, allowing it to reach a top speed of 180 km/h with an acceleration of 9.5 seconds [0-100 km/h]. It was 3935 mm long and weighed only 850 kg, with a fuel consumption of 12.8 litres / 100 km. 

Production of the Fulvia ended in 1976 with 140,054 coupes made, of which supposedly just 8 units were the 1.3 HF in RHD. This unit was imported from the UK and underwent some restoration, before it was sold to a well-known classic racing and motoring historian, who still owns it till this day. I am aware of another facelifted Fulvia here which was brought in by the same person: it was auctioned off recently. 

Fulvias in both sedan and coupe versions were sold here in the 1960s, first by Asia Motor Company Ltd and Olivetti (Singapore) Limited. As of 2019, there were only 9 Lancias registered here: the relative lack of understanding on a dead brand can be pretty daunting for someone who might want to bring one in. However, the fact that these have been imported shows the enthusiasm some people have on these rare machines. I haven't gotten a closer look ever since 2018 when these pictures were taken, perhaps you'll be lucky to see it soon!

More than an old car #126: Lancia Flavia

It is always nice to come across classic cars anytime, anywhere, but it was a bonus to have seen this elusive 1963 Lancia Flavia Vignale Convertible!

The Lancia Flavia was developed by Antonio Fessia, then Central Technical Director of the Lancia motor company in the 1950s, and was unveiled to the public at the Turin Motor Show in 1960. Fessia was determined to produce a suitable front-wheel-drive car, which was inspired by a prototype that he worked on. Its name is based on the Via Flavia, an ancient Roman road, which was in keeping with Lancia's tradition of adopting names from Roman roads.

Initially, only the sedan (berlina) version was available, but a coupe and convertible were gradually introduced. The convertible (introduced in 1962) was based off the sedan, and was designed by Giovanni Michelotti from the Vignale coachbuilder company. As such, it still looks square and sober, although the pouting grille and twin headlights gave it a certain tenacity. A variety of engines were offered, namely 1.5 litre, 1.8 litre and 2 litre engines. This unit was powered by a 1800 cc Lancia H4 engine, allowing it to reach a top speed of 173 km/h with an acceleration of 13 seconds [0-100 km/h]. It was 4340 mm long and weighed 1150 kg, with a decent fuel consumption of 11 litres/100 km.

Production of the Flavia ended in 1970, although the convertible version was discontinued in 1967. It was a very rare car even until today: out of the 1,601 units made, 834 cars had the 1.8 litre engine. Amazingly, only 49 in total were in RHD! Interestingly, there are only about 10 Lancias in existence in Singapore: seems like people were not that keen to keep the numerous bread-and-butter models that used to roam our roads.

This unit was imported some time in 2012 and I understand it rarely appears, except during the F1 Drivers' Parade every year. I was fortunate to see it up close when it was awaiting maintenance: it really blows the mind to see that we have such unique cars despite our restrictive ownership. This is not just some old car, but one that you'll be hard-pressed to find around the world...having said that, I hope you will be able to find it soon!

More than an old car #15: Lancia Montecarlo

Throughout my years of documenting old cars in Singapore, it is a treat to spot vehicles that I didn't know existed here, either because it is not native to the Asian market or that it has been kept from the outside world for so long. I was therefore surprised to see this 1981 Lancia Montecarlo lurking in a random corner!

Lancia is an Italian car manufacturer which was founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia as "Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili". Lancia is renowned for pioneering many automobile innovations, such as the 5-speed gearbox and the V6 [6-cylinder] engine. Previously, it also made trucks and buses but it stopped doing so in 1970. It was bought over by Fiat in 1969 and it is currently known as Lancia Automobiles S.p A since 2007.

The design for the Montecarlo was drawn up in 1971 by Pininfarina, a famous car design company. Production began in 1975 and ended in 1982. There were 2 different generations of cars, as Lancia halted production in 1979 so that it could work out certain issues. It was powered by the Lampredi I4 engine [4-cylinder engine], allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 195 km/h with an acceleration of 9.3 seconds [0-100km/h]. The Series 2 was 3.81 m long and weighed 1040 kg.

However, the Montecarlo was plagued with problems such as a noisy engine and a propensity to rust. The first series models also had problems with braking, especially in wet conditions, leading to the hiatus as mentioned earlier. Only about 7800 were built and many were beyond repair due to the rust. To the best of my knowledge, Lancia still does not have a presence in Singapore and this specimen is most likely imported. Yet, I hope to see this someday on our roads!