Lancia Appia Guides, Photos and Videos

The Lancia Appia was a passenger car introduced in 1953 by Italian car manufacturer Lancia as a replacement for the Ardea, and which remained in production for ten years.The Appia was the last in a long line of Lancia production cars dating back to the Lancia Lambda (introduced in 1922) to use the famous sliding pillar front suspension. All three series produced had a Lancia V4 engine of 1089 cc.

In addition to the saloon, a number of special bodied Appias were produced, including a coupé by Pinin Farina, a convertible and 2-door saloon by Vignale and an aluminium-bodied GT by Zagato, as well as light commercial vehicle variants.In all 107,000 Appia were built: 98,000 saloons, 3,863 commercial vehicles, and 5,161 chassis supplied to coachbuilders.

In 1950 Lancia had introduced its first all-new postwar model, the Lancia Aurelia, a small but expensive luxury car with sophisticated engineering features like the first ever V6 engine, inboard rear brakes and a transaxle gearbox. Alongside it Lancia was still producing the Lancia Ardea, a pre-war design that although once innovative was in need of replacement.The new small Lancia was designed under engineer Vittorio Jano. Initially an updated version of the Ardea's 17° V4 engine was considered, but a clean-sheet design was ultimately chosen. At little over 10°, the new V4 had the narrowest angle of any V4 engine, and used solutions unprecedented at Lancia, like dual in-block camshafts in place of overhead ones. As the Ardea resembled a scaled-down Aprilia, the Appia mimicked the Aurelia's appearance, substituting its exotic parts with more cost-effective ones, such as a solid axle and a four-speed gearbox in block with the engine. For its mechanical features—sliding pillar front suspension, V4 engine, rear-wheel drive, absence of a centre pillar—the Appia can be considered the last in a line of Lancias which stretched back to the 1922 Lambda. Following a custom started in the postwar years, the new model was named after a Roman consular road, the Appian Way.

The Appia Berlina (saloon) was introduced in April 1953 at the Turin Motor Show.The chassis code was C10 for the right hand drive saloon—the standard version, as was customary at Lancia—and C10S (from Sinistra, Italian for "left") for the left hand drive variant, available on request.Under the Appia's bonnet there was a 38 PS 1.1-litre engine, which according to the manufacturer could push the car to 120 km/h (75 mph). The body style was similar to its bigger sister's, the luxurious Lancia Aurelia. To save weight, on the first few thousands of examples the doors and rear wings were aluminium. The bumpers were also aluminium, making them easily dented; after some owners' complaints, rubber stripping was added, to protect them from minor impacts.In a tradition inaugurated by the 1933 Lancia Augusta, the front doors were hinged forwards, the rears aft, and there was no central pillar. A spare tyre, the fuel filler and the battery were housed in the boot.Inside there were independent front seats, a column-mounted shifter, ivory plastic steering wheel and switches, and panno Lancia wool cloth upholstery in grey or beige.In total 20,025 first series saloons were made, from 1953 to 1956. Of these, the majority—10,257—were right hand drive, and the remaining 9,768 left hand drive.

The Appia did not prove the success it was expected to be. In 1956 Italian car magazine Quattroruote attributed this to the steep price, fierce competition put up by the cheaper Fiat 1100/103 and the fresher Alfa Romeo Giulietta, as well as to the quantity of minor defects. The car was mechanically sound, but was littered with small flaws (like the feeble aluminium bumpers) not well tolerated by Lancia's discriminating clientele—probably consequences of the hasty, low-priority development, in a time when Lancia was diverting many of its limited resources to its sports car racing efforts.

In April 1955 engineer Antonio Fessia joined Lancia as technical director, and started off fixing the Appia's shortcomings. Jano left shortly after, when Lancia withdrew from Formula 1.The resulting second series Appia, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1956, had a more powerful engine, a modernized body and better interior room. The C10 and C10S type codes were kept.The rear part of the body had been redesigned to enlarge the boot, and the wheelbase was stretched by 3 cm (1.2 in) to provide better rear seat accommodation; this resulted in a 14.5 cm (5.7 in) growth in length. From the front the second series could be recognized from its rectangular instead of round turn signal lamps and the steel bumpers with over-riders. The fuel filler cap was moved outside, under a locking flap on the right hand side rear wing. Fessia's changes to the engine included lowering the compression ratio, redesigning the cylinder head incorporating hemispherical combustion chambers and a new arrangement of the valves, new pistons, a new carburettor and different camshaft profiles. Output increased to 43 PS, and top speed to 120 km/h (75 mph). In the cabin a front bench seat took place of the two single ones, the binnacle held two round instruments, and steering wheel and switchgear went from ivory to black.

Despite—previously critical—Quattroruote having declared the Appia "finally accomplished and convincing", sales did not take off yet. In May 1958 daily production still lingered at 27 cars per day, far short of the 50 anticipated during the car's development. In total 22,425 second series saloons were made, only 3,180 of them C10 right hand drive cars.

In March 1959, the third series Appia was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show with a new front end. Lancia's traditional radiator shell-style grille was ultimately abandoned, in favour of an horizontal one inspired by the Lancia Flaminia flagship. Engine power went up again to 48 PS, as did top speed, to 132 km/h (82 mph). The braking system was improved with |twin leading shoe]] front drum brakes and a "Duplex" dual hydraulic circuit during the 1960 model year. Model designations were different from the previous two series: 808.807 for the LHD variant, and 808.808 for the RHD one.In its third iteration the Appia was finally mature, and 55,577 saloons were made, the vast majority in left hand drive.

At the end of the 1950s, with third series Appia sales soaring, Lancia CEO Fidanza advocated preparing a fourth series with an all-new body. Fessia, a strong proponent of front-wheel drive, was reluctant updating the old design, moreover one that was Jano's brainchild. In the end Fessia had the upper hand, as Fidanza had come to grips with the board and resigned. The Lancia Fulvia was developed and introduced in 1963, a clean-sheet design reprising the longitudinal front-wheel drive layout of Fessia's larger Flavia, but with Lancia's final narrow vee V4 engine.

Starting with 1954 Lancia also built light commercial bodies on the Appia chassis, replacing the analogous versions of the earlier Ardea.Three models were offered: the Furgoncino panel van (chassis code C80 or C80S for left hand drive), Camioncino pick-up (C83 or C83S), and an ambulance based on the Furgoncino, the Autolettiga (C86 or C86S). In respect to the saloon, all had shorter final drives, lower horsepower engines, widened axle tracks, up-sized 16" wheels and larger tyres—and consequently bodywork altered to accept these modifications.With the introduction of the second series Appia in 1954 all three models received upgrades similar to the saloon's, while keeping the body style almost untouched. Commercial variants were not upgraded to third series specifications, as during 1959 they were phased out in favour of a forward control full-fledged van using Appia drivetrains, the Lancia Jolly.

First series Appias were only offered in factory body styles. This changed with the second and third series Appias, which were also built as a platform chassis intended for coachbuilt bodies.Towards the end of 1955 a first batch of 14 chassis based on the brand new second series Appia were built and handed over to some of the most prominent coachbuilders of the time: Allemano, Boano, Ghia Aigle, Motto, Pinin Farina, Vignale and Zagato.Initially all fourteen chassis were coded tipo 812.00, based on standard saloon mechanicals; five of were upgraded to a more powerful 53 PS engine and floor-mounted shifter, and given the new type designation 812.01. At the April 1956 Turin Motor Show, a month after the successful introduction of the second series Appia in Geneva, five specially bodied Appias were shown: a coupé and a two-door saloon by Vignale, a coupé each from Pinin Farina, Boano and Zagato. Between Spring 1956 and Spring 1957 the coachbuilders presented their one-off interpretations of the Appia at various motor shows. Later more 812.01 chassis were built, bringing the total of unique to thirteen.

Of the coachbuilders who had worked on the first fourteen chassis, two were selected by Lancia to produce special Appia body styles: Pinin Farina for the coupé, and Vignale for the convertible. Their nearly definitive proposals debuted at the March 1957 Geneva Motor Show, and soon went into limited series production. Built by their respective designers on chassis supplied by Lancia, these were included in Lancia's own catalogue and regularly sold through Lancia dealerships. In the later years other variants were added to the official portfolio: Vignale's Lusso, Zagato's GTE and Sport, and Viotti's Giardinetta.All of these variants were built on the 812.01 type chassis with the more powerful engine and floor shifter; when the third series saloon debuted its mechanical upgrades were transferred to the chassis, and the engine gained one horsepower 54 PS.In early 1960 a revised, more powerful engine was adopted, putting out 60 HP thanks to a new Weber carburettor and an inlet manifold with a duct per each cylinder.In total 5,161 Appia chassis for coachbuilders were made.

Pinin Farina built a 2+2 coupé version between 1957 and 1963.Pinin Farina's first proposal, from the 1956 Turin Motor Show, was a 4-seater coupé based on an 812.00 chassis and reminiscent of the Lancia Florida prototype, which Lancia's management did not find satisfactory. Therefore, Pinin Farina set off to work on a second prototype, a 2+2 on one of the five more powerful 812.01 chassis, shown with Lancia's blessing at the March 1957 Geneva Motor Show.Shortly after the Motor Show the car went into small series production, christened Appia Coupé.The Coupé was characterised by a wide grille—which previewed Pinin Farina's own Lancia Flaminia as well as the third series Appia berlina, by a V-shaped C-pillar parting the side window from the wrap-around rear window, and by a two-tone paint scheme. The tail lights were trapezoidal element inset in the rear fins. Bodies were steel, with a fibreglass boot lid.

With the introduction of the third series Appia in 1959 the coupé was updated too, to a slightly stronger 54 engine. Third series coupés can be distinguished by the rear tail lights, grouped in a single unit making up the edge of the rear—more vertical—tail fins.In the spring of 1960 the updated 60 HP engine was adopted. Later in the production run production was moved to Carrozzeria Viotti. Viotti-built cars were identical to Pinin Farina's, although late ones were based on a reinforced 812.04 chassis and had fibreglass instead of aluminium dashboards, and steel instead of fibreglass boot lids.Production amounted to 302 second series cars all built by Pinin Farina, and some 785 third series cars made by Pinin Farina and Viotti. 1,087 cars were built overall, from 1957 to 1963.

Vignale's creations from the 1956 Turin Motor Show—on two of the eight 812.00 chassis—were a coupé named Appia Sport, reminiscent of Vignale's own Lancia Aurelia "Raggio Azzurro", and the Gran Lusso, an elegant 2-door saloon.

Vignale was then chosen to build a cabriolet version of the Appia. The Lancia Appia Convertibile, designed by Giovanni Michelotti, was introduced at the 1957 Turin Motor Show and built up to 1962. Initially a two-seater, it was later revised to accept two rear occasional seats, thus becoming a 2+2 from the summer of 1968. All Convertibles were built on an 812.01 chassis; at first based on the second series Appia platform with a 53 PS engine, upgraded in 1959 to the third series platform and 54 PS engine, and finally in 1960 to the more powerful 60 PS engine. From 1957 to 1962, 1,584 convertibles were built.

At the 1958 Turin Motor Show, Vignale introduced another special Appia variant, the Lancia Appia Lusso or Berlina Lusso. It was 2-door saloon with frameless doors and ample windows, again with styling by Michelotti derived from the 1956 Lancia Gran Lusso. All Vignale Lusso were built on a specific Tipo 812.02 chassis, a strengthened series three platform. Front wings and bonnet were shared with the Convertibile, but the Lusso was longer, larger and taller. In total 477 Appia Lusso were made in the Vignale factory from 1959 to 1962.

Zagato built four coupé versions based on the Berlina between 1957 and 1962, for a grand total of 721 vehicles. Zagato's creations catered to Lancia's sportiest clientele, who would privately race their cars. All of Zagato's Appias were bodied stretching an aluminium skin over a boxed steel framework.

The harbinger of all Zagato Appias was the prototype built on a type 812.01 chassis, serial number 1005, and first displayed at the 1956 Turin Motor Show. It was immediately nicknamed Appia Cammello, "Camel", because of the double humps it carried not only on the roof—Zagato's signature double bubble—but also on the engine bonnet and boot lid.Originally painted in two-tone blue and white, and fully finished with bumpers and over-riders, this prototype was victorious at that year's Cortina concours d'elegance. Later it was outfitted for racing—applying an amaranto (dark red) livery, removing the bumpers and fitting more conventional looking bonnet and boot lid—and entered at the 1957 Mille Miglia.

During early 1957, Zagato built some 30 more Appias, which remained somewhat similar to the first Cammello, but lost the humps on the bonnet and boot lid, donned thin vertical fins over the rear wings and Plexiglas-covered headlamps, and gained a new grille which would set the template for all future Appia Zagato. All these cars differed a lot from one another.After this first run of prototypes two models were more or less standardised and built in roughly 150 examples. These were the Appia GT, with open headlights carried over from the saloon, and the same 53 PS engine found on other coachbuilders' models; and the sportier Appia GTS, with faired in headlights, a more streamlined body, often a double bubble roof, and a tuned 60 PS engine. The interior carried over the standard car's steering wheel but added tube-framed leatherette sport seats; on the GTS a wood-rimmed steering wheel and bucket seats were optional.

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