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Remembering the Pioneering Lancia Lambda (1922 – 1931)

Take a minute to imagine what cars were like in the Interwar period. The Roaring ‘20s are best defined by the Rolls-Royce Phantom Series I and other luxuobarges that include the fabulous Duesenberg Model J and the flamboyant Bugatti Type 41 Royale. As for the ‘30s, the Citroen Traction Avant and Volkswagen Beetle are the most influential automobiles of this decade. I would also make a case for the first concept car, the Buick Y-Job, but few enthusiasts remember the innovative Lancia Lambda.
Lancia Lambda 29 photos
Photo: Lancia
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Named after the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, the Lambda introduced the automotive world to load-bearing unitary designs. Don’t confuse it for the first mass-produced unibody, though, because that’s not the case here.

The torpedo-bodied layout and unstressed roof made it less of a monocoque and more of a bowl, which brings us to a Budd Company engineer by the name of Joseph Ledwinka. This fellow developed a unitized body concept in the 1930s that was picked up by Citroen for the aforementioned Traction Avant. Chrysler used Ledwinka’s design too, but the Airflow still featured a good ol’ chassis frame welded to the body, hence the unitized adjective.

According to up-and-coming coachbuilder Battista "Pinin" Farina, the one and only Vincenzo Lancia took inspiration for the very first car built without a conventional rigid frame from steel-hulled transatlantic ocean steamers.

Vincenzo was instrumental in the founding of Carrozzeria Pinin Farina, currently known as Pininfarina S.p.A. and owned by Indian multinational company Mahindra. Another innovation that made Vincenzo a superstar of the automotive world is the independent front suspension of the Lambda.

The reason he and lead engineer Battista Falchetto decided on the sliding-pillar suspension design comes in the guise of extremely bad roads. More specifically, Vincenzo had experienced a leaf spring failure in his open-top Kappa, the first post-war Lancia, while driving to his mother in Valsesia.

As a rule of thumb, independent suspension absorbs impacts better than a solid axle by allowing each wheel to rise and fall individually. In the case of a beam axle, what happens to a given wheel affects the opposite wheel.

Lancia Lambda
Photo: Lancia
Instead of the I4 engine that Lancia used in the Kappa, the Lambda introduced the automotive world to the very first mass-produced V4 engine. As the name implies, four cylinders arranged in a V is what makes the V4 special. The narrow-angle design with 20 degrees between the cylinder banks allowed the Italian automaker to use a single head. Both cylinder banks relied on a single overhead camshaft, and in true Lancia fashion, the block and head were produced from lightweight aluminum instead of iron.

Envisioned by Battista Falchetto, the four-wheel drum brakes of the Lambda were somewhat unconventional back then because many cars used to have only rear brakes. Considering that everyone favors front bias, it’s pretty obvious the lead engineer was a pioneer in his own right.

Although it was never intended to be a sporty machine, the Lambda handled better than many contemporary automobiles due to its low center of gravity made possible by the unitized body. It’s also worth mentioning the manual transmission’s tunnel was located beside the seats instead of above them.

Originally rated at 49 metric horsepower, the Lambda leveled up to 59 PS, then to 69 ponies over the course of nine series. This masterpiece of a machine was offered in torpedo and sedan guises from the latter part of 1922 until 1931. There is conflicting information regarding total production, but in any case, the grand total ranges between 11,200 and 13,000 examples.

The Lambda saw plenty of motorsport action during its production run. To whom it may concern, a Lambda was entered into the inaugural edition of the Mille Miglia in 1927, the first motor race for the Italian marque. That car finished in fourth place overall, which isn’t too shabby if you ask me.

The oft-overlooked Lancia Lambda was popular with quite a few A-list people as well. Swedish-American actress Greta Garbo is probably the most famous owner of them all, followed by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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