To an Englishman born in 1963, these are the chariots of dreams. The Fulvia coupé, impossibly, delicately pretty. The Zagato Sport, as rare here as a unicorn and from some angles the very definition of 'jolie-laide'. But pure and visceral and too lovely to be true. The Berlina was rarely seen in the UK, but by the time I was visiting Italy (early 1980s) it was still a regular and svelte vision in Italian towns and cities, alongside the 105 Giulia. These pretty, pretty Lancias are just gorgeous. Lancia never hit these heights again.... Never. The Integrale was a wonderful thing, but more a fortuitous Fiat parts-bin special that magically met the homologation brief at the right time.... Great as a tool to do a job, but not great like the Fulvia. Lovely cars. Lovely video. Thank you.
Yes, I remember plenty of Fulvias on Turin's roads when I was little, in the late 80s and early 90s. Giulias by then were mostly gone, because they tended to have less careful owners and lead more "eventful" lives... There have been some great cars made under Fiat ownership, the Integrale of course being the peak of the bunch, but the Lancias made before the takeover were something else, I agree.
Yeah, Fessia was a brilliant engineer, but he was convinced that racing no longer served as a platform to improve automobile engineering and design. He's been proven wrong on that one :)
Fascinating, as always! The Fulvia coupé, with its "bumper-less" design, is gorgeous. One can only wish that someone today would design something with that design ethos. Modern components and materials would undoubtedly be up to the task of protecting both the cars and pedestrians.
Well, the Fiat designers came tantalizingly close with the 2003 Fulvia concept car, which still is one of the greatest missed opportunities of recent automobile history
Thank you for making this video. I am just now re-fitting my 1231 cc '202' engine back into its '72 Coupe body after rebuilding it. Only have to triple check the valve timing ... it's a very elegant engine design, compact with all externals neatly placed.
Yes indeed. Classic Lancias’ mechanicals are as neat and pretty as the cars’ exterior design. Hope you’ll be able to drive your Fulvia again soon then!
Such a wonderful car marque, the cars it made overtime have been so desirable and affordable to many who could not afford the exotica. So sad to see what the company has become today. Bringing back a new sports fulvia would win many fans worldwide.
Indeed. The world went nuts for Lancia's 2003 Fulvia concept car... Which sadly never made production. The greatest missed opportunity of recent automobile history, in my view.
Grande! Bellissima vettura. Qui a Torino ricordo che ne giravano ancora parecchie fino a non tanti anni fa. Ora sono giustamente curate come i piccoli purosangue che sono. Complimenti e grazie!
@@Matteo_Licata vero, ci sono quelli che vogliono l'originale in tutto e per tutto e quelli che invece le preparano/elaborano facendole assomigliare alla leggendaria Fulvia di Munari, tant'è che girano anche 1.3S con adesivi HF, ma ciascuno è libero di fare ció che preferisce con la propria auto :) Ho caricato proprio ora il video sulla Fulvietta, se ti va dagli un'occhiata ;) Comunque colgo l'occasione per farti i miei complimenti al canale, ormai è da diversi mesi che sono iscritto :D
Fantastic video, congratulations Matteo. My best friend has a 1.3 Fulvia Coupe, the engine sound is just gorgeous. Thanks for this great history lesson. Ciao 🙋♂️
What a fantastic video! Love all the technicalities and footage. I could hear you talk V angles all day to be honest. Who could have been a fly on the wall in a Fessia-Fiorio meeting, fireworks!
"I could hear you talk V angles all day" sure must count among the best compliments I've ever received, thank you very much! I'm glad you appreciate this kind of info, as I think it's part of what makes this channel unique... And I'm proud of that :)
This is a fantastic story about a very exotic engine. I always have wondered how this engine would have done in the Saab 96 and Saab Sonett. Both are also rally cars. It could have been interesting.
Excellent vid. The V4 very unusual in retaining one cylinder block unlike other V formations having a wider angle with 2 banks of cylinders. I believe VW did a similar design with their V6 from the 1990's.
Heard Lancia worked on a stillborn project called Y4, described as a small 1300cc inline-four Beta-like two-box saloon but smaller designed by Piero Castagnero. Interested to know more about it as it seems to be a Fulvia replacement that preceded the Delta.
Love the old images of Paris with 2 Peugeot 404's trying to chase the Lancia out of Paris and the next shot we see it in Volendam in Holland. HF High Fidelity - who invented the term for Lancia? Fanalone - the two inner lights are bigger then the outer units, am I right about what they told me ?
The footage I've used comes from a lovely Lancia history documentary made by Fiat Auto in 1990, which is available for download from the group's press site. Given it's there "for journalists and influencers' use", I've used it ;) It's in Italian, though :) Hi Fi was the name of the club, founded in 1960, that reunited Lancia's most loyal customers. To be admitted, one had to have bought at least six brand-new Lancias. Cesare Fiorio used the name for his rally team, which only used Lancia cars and would then become the company's official racing arm. The Club Hi Fi no longer exists, I think. The Club Lancia still does though, and it's the official club of Lancia collectors in Italy. Yes, the "fanalone" had the inner lights larger than the outer ones, it's correct!
Bravo Matteo! Your video’s are getting better and better. The Zagato is my favorit design, second after AR stepnose (biased). Fun fact: the Nord engine in the AR 105 is tilted the same way too. Only some degrees. But you can see it, if you looking from the front or rear.
Thank you! I try to do a little better with each video :) Unfortunately I don't know when I'll be able to film my own footage with "real" cars again, due to new restrictions here in Italy. But rest assured I'll keep telling these stories the best I can! Thank you very much for your support!
I planning my nephew to video my AR 1969 gt junior, when the spring comming. He is very creative with the camera. I can send you the shoots, and you can maybe use them in a future video. «The Alfa from the north»
@@TheInstructor66 That would be great! I haven't yet covered the 105 GT because I wanted to film one for real... So thank you for your kind offer, we'll talk about it!
Interesting that some car company’s uses V4 engines, for instances Ford too. But if I got your video right, the Lancia has just one cylinder head. For me little bit similar to the Volkswagen VR engine, with 6 cylinders, which comes many many years later.
@@seybertooth9282 Saab bought its V-4 engines from Ford. They didn’t make their own. Also, Saab’s Ford-supplied engine didn’t share a common cylinder head between the banks, since they were splayed at a 60° angle.
There’s a really rotten Zagato Sport on eBay here in the UK , I really like Harry’s from Harry’s Garage . It would be a difficult toss up between the HF Coupe and the Zagato Sport for me , such pretty cars
Personally, I'd have the 1.6 in the Zagato body, as I think the sportier lines suit the engine's character best. But I'd love an early 1.2 Coupé too... Those are achingly pretty and were very well finished.
Great interesting video 😀 Taught me how to say Lancia the proper Italian way 😂Used to have A 1/18 Model of a Fulvia coupe in full rally spec polistil? I think when I was a child 😃 Also had one of a Stratos probably why these are two of my favourite Lancias 😁
Thank you! Yes, that's how "Lancia" should be pronounced: "Lan-cha." It may sound weird to British ears, but that's how it is :) I wish I still had some of the polistil cars I had when I was little, by the way! Those were cool!
I'm waiting for the Beta story. I owned a secondhand, burgundy, 1.6 coupe in 1987. An hour after I purchased it, the cam-belt broke! I had it repaired and drove it with a slightly bent valve for the next two years.
The Beta story is definitely going to appear on this channel, as it's prime Roadster Life material :) I'll work on it, but I don't yet know when it'll be online. Watch this space, though :)
@@Matteo_Licata I recall several areas of attention to detail about the Beta. The rear courtesy light was total opulence compared with the other manufacturers of the day and the extra stiffening between the suspension strut's. However the Beta coupe, still didn't handle as well, as the Alfasud I purchased directly afterwards, which didn't have the additional torsion component.
Awesome production. I had no idea that the 818.540 has nothing to do with its predecessor. I suppose there’s little surprise in me saying that I find the Fulvia a very attractive classic and “I have long fingers” about one. (German way of saying: I want one, though I dare not speaking about it yet.)
The Fulvia is a fantastic little car, and excellent value for money compared to a period Alfa. The GT Junior and the Fulvia Coupé 1.3 were market competitors in period, but the Lancia can now be had for half the Alfa's price. Not a bad deal at all, if you ask me :)
It has been a long time that I am dreaming of a Fulvia coupe but my mechanic at the Alfa/Lancia/Fiat garage where I take my Spider discouraged me. He says that spare parts are very difficult to find and expensive. Availability of parts is a big plus of vintage Alfas in comparison to Lancias.
Yeah, it's definitely more of an issue finding parts for Fulvias than it is for Giulias, as the latter are supported by a healthy repro industry. But I wouldn't let that discourage me... Most classics lack spare parts support, but if you buy a good one and look after it, you won't need much stuff to keep it going.
Heard the original plan was for the Fulvia to receive the Flavia Boxer, only for Lancia to realise the Flavia motor at lower displacements was not powerful enough which led to the development of the Fulvia V4. Know VVT was considered for the Fulvia 1.6 HF in rallying, however despite likely accurate claims the engine was at its very limit was the V4 capable of growing beyond 1.6-litres and did Lancia ever look at a V6 version of the Fulvia V4 motor to create a Lancia analogue of the VW VR6 to replace the aging Aurelia/Flaminia V6?
I don't know for sure whether there was any room to stretch the 1.6 liters V4. Experiments with the Kugelfisher fuel injection system (already used on some Flavias) are well documented, but I have never heard of VVT ideas, which would have been way ahead of the curve in the 1960s. Knowing how great those engineers were, it's possible though. However, it's important to note that, with Fessia's health declining and the company's debt burden increasing, the last few years of Lancia as an independent company saw very little in the way of research and development. When Fiat took over, only the Flavia (2000) and Fulvia (series II) restylings were ready, not much else.
Apparently there is some further as yet undefined commonality between the Fulvia and Flavia motors aside from Fessia's involvement. Even though Lancia allegedly did not have much in development when it was bought by Fiat, would Lancia's prospects have been improved had they been able to develop a common 4/6-cylinder engine family instead of three different engine designs with the narrow-angle V4, Boxer and V6? Reference to VVT being studied on the Fulvia in the early 1970s can be found on page 240 in Lancia and De Virgilio by Geoffrey Goldberg, the intention being to increase the available power and torque.
Talking of lancia, I have a suggestion for you. The unique Sintesis car. One of a kind, literaly, designed by Tom Tarjda and uses a flat 4 from lancia.
Can you imagine how much it cost to build so many different engines with different v angles, bores, strokes, and intake manifolds for such a small volume, all at once? Along with 3 completely different body styles with almost nothing structurally interchangeable? And that’s just in the Fuliva range! Lancia was also building the completely different Flavia, with its completely different flat-4 range, and its very different bodies. And the completely different Flaminia’s chassis, body, and V6 engine. Lancia was making less than 40,000 units total per year split between all these engine families, chassis, and bodies. As lovely as they were, it was unsustainably inefficient. But it seems like Fiat overcorrected with the Beta. Of all the Lancia engines Fiat kept, it was the Gamma’s troublesome flat 4 that lasted longest. They just threw Lancia’s V4/6 heritage out the window.
Yes indeed, control of production costs wasn't Lancias's strongest point back then. The only thing I'd correct you about is the Gamma engine. Fiat didn't "keep" it, as the Gamma engine was entirely designed under Fiat ownership, although it can certainly be considered the last Lancia engine, as it was designed exclusively for the Gamma. By 1968 the Flaminia was made in negligible numbers, and its V6 was an aging design anyway. To be honest, Fiat took over a rudderless Lancia and acted in a very generous and respectful way... But some tough choices had to be made anyway.
@@Matteo_Licata Good point about the Gamma flat-4. And about Fiat’s stewardship, particularly until they bought Alfa. In terms of quality and distinction, the Beta seemed as much a replacement for the Fulvia as the Autobianchi A111, though. Which is fair. Fiat didn’t have to keep Lancia going... they didn’t owe anyone the investment they made. Lancia was lucky to survive 1969 in any form, and the cars they made still managed to be remarkable in their own ways. But I am left wondering whether building a new, common Lancia V4 and V6 architecture for use in the Beta and Gamma would have been a better, and still cost-effective approach, than the Beta Fiat twin-cam/Gamma flat-4 course they took. The Gamma, in particular, would have benefitted from a more powerful and flexible engine that didn’t run the power steering pump off the timing belt. They went to the trouble of paying for an all-new engine family with the Gamma’s flat-4 that became the car’s Achilles Heel. A flexible V4/6 architecture would have seen much higher volumes if adapted to both the Beta and Gamma (and, likely, the Delta, Prisma, Thema, and successive models). But as it was, the flat-4 was confined to a lovely model that was doomed to low volumes. While the Beta lost some of the quality and distinction inherent in past Lancias.
@@judethaddaeus9742 One of the main reasons why the Fiat twin cam was used on the Beta is linked to its short development cycle. The Beta went from a blank sheet of paper to production in a staggering 18 months. Remember that this was done well before computers, so it's remarkable they managed to make it at all, let alone making it as good as it indeed was for its day. There wasn't much time to lay down big plans and design a new engine family.
@@Matteo_Licata Ah ha... that makes sense. Lancia needed some new product with some volume potential and it makes sense that the Beta was fast tracked. I’d love to know how they were able to get it into production so quickly! Also, the Berlina is a much cleaner and more handsome design than it gets credit for, I think.
In its later years, the Flaminia was a bit short of breath compared with opposition. Imagine if Lancia had made a W8 based on the Fulvia 1.6 HF engine. It would have had 100bhp more than the most potent Flaminia engines, and been very compact. Oh, and that resulting 3 litre W-8 might have been squeezed into a Fulvia Zagato....
@@Matteo_Licata Greg Garage qui su UA-cam, fa dei video belli tosti, tira mazzate a giornalisti, case costruttrici, modelli di auto .. merita ... Con l 'altro fanno una rivista/magazine online a pagamento
I think the Fulvia Coupé was a real design highlight but all the others, including the Zagato's, are a bit plump in my eyes. Furthermore: Aluminum heads on cast iron blocks can work well, untill the cooling system packs in. Then they are a liability. You know what I drive so you know where I got that esteemed bit of knowledge from. :-)
@@marcbrasse747 They're famous for warping their cylinder heads (but it can be rectified with extensive modifications). You end up in a huge cloud of steam on the hard shoulder :-(
I don't mind those. As soon as any video goes beyond 3 or 4k views, a few dislikes are an inevitability. Those are people that just want to be annoying. I don't care, one can never please everyone.
@@Matteo_Licata of course, you can't avoid dislikes, but i am just curious to know what happens in their heads. It is not a political channel and it is not a content that provokes division or arguments...
I can see Saab copied this Lancia..This was a period that most car manufacturers relied on Italy for their cars design..all European. British and some Asian car companies made use of Italian designers. I like being Italian 🤪
Lancia's relentlessness for the rallies was, in my opinion, a serious mistake !! For different reasons. First of all it cost a lot of money. Too much for a small brand like Lancia. Then it took money and energy for what was most important: building great cars for CUSTOMERS! And third point and in my opinion the most devastating: the Lancia victories have provoked in other nations a jealousy and resentment which especially in Germany united people around their brand! And so they did not buy Lancia. Although Lancia was far superior. 😏🙄As Pirrus said: another Victory like this, and I'm lost !!!!
your last point surprises me - for me personally, if vehicle is excellent, I would buy it, no matter where it's from - but perhaps I'm not as patriotic (or jealous) as germans or british are
@@edombre4637in the 60s/70s/80s the main car buyers were USA, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, England...)and some smaler markets. the other states did not have the purchasing power. the usa only bought their "ships" and was not interesting for Eu cars ! Now you certainly don't know the jealous and sometimes hateful mentality of the europeans! These countries produce cars, and challenging them and winning rallies against them causes patriotic rallying around their brands. Specialy F and D! Even if this cars are big scrap as for example Volkswagen which was a "poor" car, in the 60/70... It is Major mistake to challenge them and win!. The Japanese, for example, did not make this mistake! The succes is visible!
To an Englishman born in 1963, these are the chariots of dreams. The Fulvia coupé, impossibly, delicately pretty.
The Zagato Sport, as rare here as a unicorn and from some angles the very definition of 'jolie-laide'. But pure and visceral and too lovely to be true.
The Berlina was rarely seen in the UK, but by the time I was visiting Italy (early 1980s) it was still a regular and svelte vision in Italian towns and cities, alongside the 105 Giulia.
These pretty, pretty Lancias are just gorgeous. Lancia never hit these heights again.... Never. The Integrale was a wonderful thing, but more a fortuitous Fiat parts-bin special that magically met the homologation brief at the right time.... Great as a tool to do a job, but not great like the Fulvia. Lovely cars.
Lovely video. Thank you.
Yes, I remember plenty of Fulvias on Turin's roads when I was little, in the late 80s and early 90s. Giulias by then were mostly gone, because they tended to have less careful owners and lead more "eventful" lives...
There have been some great cars made under Fiat ownership, the Integrale of course being the peak of the bunch, but the Lancias made before the takeover were something else, I agree.
I would call the Zagato "laide-jolie", personally ;-D but still - Zagato magic all the same!
Lancia's technical director: "Racing is pointless."
Lancia: [goes on to win 10 World Rally Championships]
Yeah, Fessia was a brilliant engineer, but he was convinced that racing no longer served as a platform to improve automobile engineering and design. He's been proven wrong on that one :)
...unfortunately, Lancia’s 10 WRC wins don’t seem to matter much now given that the only model that survives now is the Ypsilon, and only in Italy.
Imagine if they took it seriously??
The Zagato sport is for me one of the most beautiful cars ever made.
It's very pretty, yes indeed. Small wonder it's the Zagato-bodied car that's been sold in more copies, by a wide margin.
The Fulvia Zagato is my favorite car from Italy, and dare i say... my favorite car in the world!
In the late '70s I was the proud owner of a Fulvia coupe 1969 1.3 Rallye S
Cool!
The Lancia V4 coupes are something special not only because of the body design but also due to the rare engine configuration.
*_V4 will be so good nowadays._* 🤗
Another Rare Special Lancia.....Rare V4 Technology ...Italian Cars ..How not to Love them ..tq for the video matteo ...
My pleasure! Glad you liked it!
Fascinating, as always! The Fulvia coupé, with its "bumper-less" design, is gorgeous. One can only wish that someone today would design something with that design ethos. Modern components and materials would undoubtedly be up to the task of protecting both the cars and pedestrians.
Well, the Fiat designers came tantalizingly close with the 2003 Fulvia concept car, which still is one of the greatest missed opportunities of recent automobile history
A morning with a new Roadster Life video of a car I knew nothing about, but now find interesting enough to want to learn more
Glad you think so :)
That's exactly why I make these videos. Thank you for watching!
Nice video as always! Fulvia is a true classic
Yes indeed! Thank you!
Real Lancia quality cats
I have had the Lancia Lybria S W 2.0l 5cyl. Lovely and very good car!
Thank you for making this video. I am just now re-fitting my 1231 cc '202' engine back into its '72 Coupe body after rebuilding it. Only have to triple check the valve timing ... it's a very elegant engine design, compact with all externals neatly placed.
Yes indeed. Classic Lancias’ mechanicals are as neat and pretty as the cars’ exterior design. Hope you’ll be able to drive your Fulvia again soon then!
Thanks for your detailed report on these beautiful cars!
Glad you liked it, thank you for watching!
Such a wonderful car marque, the cars it made overtime have been so desirable and affordable to many who could not afford the exotica. So sad to see what the company has become today. Bringing back a new sports fulvia would win many fans worldwide.
Indeed. The world went nuts for Lancia's 2003 Fulvia concept car... Which sadly never made production. The greatest missed opportunity of recent automobile history, in my view.
We had a Ford Taunus with a v4. Very spacious engine bay.
I did too, a 20m
Another excellent Roadster Life video and of my favourite marque. Thank you.
Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing video, Matteo! Very interesnting history about a super-cool engine and beautifull cars!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Bellissimo! Grazie! Da possessore di una Fulvia Coupè 1.3S l'ho apprezzato particolarmente ahah :D
Grande! Bellissima vettura. Qui a Torino ricordo che ne giravano ancora parecchie fino a non tanti anni fa. Ora sono giustamente curate come i piccoli purosangue che sono. Complimenti e grazie!
@@Matteo_Licata vero, ci sono quelli che vogliono l'originale in tutto e per tutto e quelli che invece le preparano/elaborano facendole assomigliare alla leggendaria Fulvia di Munari, tant'è che girano anche 1.3S con adesivi HF, ma ciascuno è libero di fare ció che preferisce con la propria auto :)
Ho caricato proprio ora il video sulla Fulvietta, se ti va dagli un'occhiata ;)
Comunque colgo l'occasione per farti i miei complimenti al canale, ormai è da diversi mesi che sono iscritto :D
@@matteo_costanzo Grazie mille per il tuo supporto ed apprezzamento! Vado subito a vedere il tuo video sulla Fulvietta, sono curioso!
Fantastic video, congratulations Matteo. My best friend has a 1.3 Fulvia Coupe, the engine sound is just gorgeous. Thanks for this great history lesson. Ciao 🙋♂️
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you very much!
Like always!!!! Bravo!!!!
What a fantastic video! Love all the technicalities and footage. I could hear you talk V angles all day to be honest. Who could have been a fly on the wall in a Fessia-Fiorio meeting, fireworks!
"I could hear you talk V angles all day" sure must count among the best compliments I've ever received, thank you very much! I'm glad you appreciate this kind of info, as I think it's part of what makes this channel unique... And I'm proud of that :)
@@Matteo_Licata Absolutely! This is fantastic Matteo, we want more
This is a fantastic story about a very exotic engine. I always have wondered how this engine would have done in the Saab 96 and Saab Sonett. Both are also rally cars. It could have been interesting.
Thank you very much! A Saab 96 with a Lancia V4 engine swap would be super-cool, I admit it! I wonder if anyone has ever done that!
In later years, Saab cooperated quite officially with Lancia and marketed Lancias in Sweden through their dealer network.
@@1258-Eckhart Yes indeed. I remember the Lancia Delta rebadged as a Saab 600 for the Swedish market.
SAAB used V4 engines from Ford.
Excellent vid. The V4 very unusual in retaining one cylinder block unlike other V formations having a wider angle with 2 banks of cylinders. I believe VW did a similar design with their V6 from the 1990's.
Thank you! Yes, VW's VR6 was a 15° V6 that used only one head casting.
Fulvia 3, bellissima. Grazie del video
Grazie a te!!!
Heard Lancia worked on a stillborn project called Y4, described as a small 1300cc inline-four Beta-like two-box saloon but smaller designed by Piero Castagnero. Interested to know more about it as it seems to be a Fulvia replacement that preceded the Delta.
Interesting indeed. I'll dig into it and see what I can learn about this project
We always loved Lancia in Greece ,although under current management we are excluded,hope they change their minds.
♥️🇬🇷🇮🇹
The Zagato Sport's front end styling always remInds me of a Renault from a similar era.
It does have a "French" vibe to it, yes!
The rectangular headlights come from the Citroën Ami 6, so there is a French touch!
Another great video!!!
Thank you very much! This has been inspired by Harry's Garage and his Zagato restoration.
Excellent thank you 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Love the old images of Paris with 2 Peugeot 404's trying to chase the Lancia out of Paris and the next shot we see it in Volendam in Holland.
HF High Fidelity - who invented the term for Lancia?
Fanalone - the two inner lights are bigger then the outer units, am I right about what they told me ?
The footage I've used comes from a lovely Lancia history documentary made by Fiat Auto in 1990, which is available for download from the group's press site. Given it's there "for journalists and influencers' use", I've used it ;)
It's in Italian, though :)
Hi Fi was the name of the club, founded in 1960, that reunited Lancia's most loyal customers. To be admitted, one had to have bought at least six brand-new Lancias. Cesare Fiorio used the name for his rally team, which only used Lancia cars and would then become the company's official racing arm.
The Club Hi Fi no longer exists, I think. The Club Lancia still does though, and it's the official club of Lancia collectors in Italy.
Yes, the "fanalone" had the inner lights larger than the outer ones, it's correct!
@@Matteo_Licata Thanks Matteo, this is real interesting information, I am always curious about the 'Why '
Bravo Matteo!
Your video’s are getting better and better.
The Zagato is my favorit design, second after AR stepnose (biased).
Fun fact: the Nord engine in the AR 105 is tilted the same way too. Only some degrees. But you can see it, if you looking from the front or rear.
Thank you! I try to do a little better with each video :)
Unfortunately I don't know when I'll be able to film my own footage with "real" cars again, due to new restrictions here in Italy. But rest assured I'll keep telling these stories the best I can! Thank you very much for your support!
I planning my nephew to video my AR 1969 gt junior, when the spring comming. He is very creative with the camera. I can send you the shoots, and you can maybe use them in a future video. «The Alfa from the north»
@@TheInstructor66 That would be great! I haven't yet covered the 105 GT because I wanted to film one for real... So thank you for your kind offer, we'll talk about it!
Interesting that some car company’s uses V4 engines, for instances Ford too. But if I got your video right, the Lancia has just one cylinder head. For me little bit similar to the Volkswagen VR engine, with 6 cylinders, which comes many many years later.
Yes, the Lancia was a narrow-vee design like the later VW VR6 designs. This allowed the use of a single, albeit very complex, cylinder head casting.
VW made a VR5, too
Saab as well.
@@seybertooth9282 Saab bought its V-4 engines from Ford. They didn’t make their own. Also, Saab’s Ford-supplied engine didn’t share a common cylinder head between the banks, since they were splayed at a 60° angle.
Great channel, please make a video about alfa 159
Thank you and welcome onboard! Yes I definitely should make a video about the 159, and it'll happen as soon as I'll find a nice example to film!
There’s a really rotten Zagato Sport on eBay here in the UK , I really like Harry’s from Harry’s Garage . It would be a difficult toss up between the HF Coupe and the Zagato Sport for me , such pretty cars
Personally, I'd have the 1.6 in the Zagato body, as I think the sportier lines suit the engine's character best. But I'd love an early 1.2 Coupé too... Those are achingly pretty and were very well finished.
Great interesting video 😀 Taught me how to say Lancia the proper Italian way 😂Used to have A 1/18 Model of a Fulvia coupe in full rally spec polistil? I think when I was a child 😃 Also had one of a Stratos probably why these are two of my favourite Lancias 😁
Thank you! Yes, that's how "Lancia" should be pronounced: "Lan-cha." It may sound weird to British ears, but that's how it is :)
I wish I still had some of the polistil cars I had when I was little, by the way! Those were cool!
I'm waiting for the Beta story. I owned a secondhand, burgundy, 1.6 coupe in 1987. An hour after I purchased it, the cam-belt broke! I had it repaired and drove it with a slightly bent valve for the next two years.
The Beta story is definitely going to appear on this channel, as it's prime Roadster Life material :)
I'll work on it, but I don't yet know when it'll be online. Watch this space, though :)
@@Matteo_Licata I recall several areas of attention to detail about the Beta. The rear courtesy light was total opulence compared with the other manufacturers of the day and the extra stiffening between the suspension strut's. However the Beta coupe, still didn't handle as well, as the Alfasud I purchased directly afterwards, which didn't have the additional torsion component.
Great video. I always thought that VW VR6 had the first narrow angle V configuration
Thank you! That's why Roadster Life is all about, spreading lesser-known automobile stories :)
Thank you
You're welcome
We love Lancia! I was born in a Lancia Fulvia! 😁
Really? One of those "Greece-Only" 1199cc Fulvias? Cool!
Can you still find some of those cars in Greece today, or are they all gone?
@@Matteo_Licata no! It was a Lancia Fulvia Coupe 1.6.
Awesome production. I had no idea that the 818.540 has nothing to do with its predecessor.
I suppose there’s little surprise in me saying that I find the Fulvia a very attractive classic and “I have long fingers” about one. (German way of saying: I want one, though I dare not speaking about it yet.)
The Fulvia is a fantastic little car, and excellent value for money compared to a period Alfa. The GT Junior and the Fulvia Coupé 1.3 were market competitors in period, but the Lancia can now be had for half the Alfa's price. Not a bad deal at all, if you ask me :)
It has been a long time that I am dreaming of a Fulvia coupe but my mechanic at the Alfa/Lancia/Fiat garage where I take my Spider discouraged me. He says that spare parts are very difficult to find and expensive. Availability of parts is a big plus of vintage Alfas in comparison to Lancias.
Yeah, it's definitely more of an issue finding parts for Fulvias than it is for Giulias, as the latter are supported by a healthy repro industry.
But I wouldn't let that discourage me... Most classics lack spare parts support, but if you buy a good one and look after it, you won't need much stuff to keep it going.
Heard the original plan was for the Fulvia to receive the Flavia Boxer, only for Lancia to realise the Flavia motor at lower displacements was not powerful enough which led to the development of the Fulvia V4.
Know VVT was considered for the Fulvia 1.6 HF in rallying, however despite likely accurate claims the engine was at its very limit was the V4 capable of growing beyond 1.6-litres and did Lancia ever look at a V6 version of the Fulvia V4 motor to create a Lancia analogue of the VW VR6 to replace the aging Aurelia/Flaminia V6?
I don't know for sure whether there was any room to stretch the 1.6 liters V4. Experiments with the Kugelfisher fuel injection system (already used on some Flavias) are well documented, but I have never heard of VVT ideas, which would have been way ahead of the curve in the 1960s. Knowing how great those engineers were, it's possible though.
However, it's important to note that, with Fessia's health declining and the company's debt burden increasing, the last few years of Lancia as an independent company saw very little in the way of research and development. When Fiat took over, only the Flavia (2000) and Fulvia (series II) restylings were ready, not much else.
Apparently there is some further as yet undefined commonality between the Fulvia and Flavia motors aside from Fessia's involvement.
Even though Lancia allegedly did not have much in development when it was bought by Fiat, would Lancia's prospects have been improved had they been able to develop a common 4/6-cylinder engine family instead of three different engine designs with the narrow-angle V4, Boxer and V6?
Reference to VVT being studied on the Fulvia in the early 1970s can be found on page 240 in Lancia and De Virgilio by Geoffrey Goldberg, the intention being to increase the available power and torque.
Talking of lancia, I have a suggestion for you. The unique Sintesis car. One of a kind, literaly, designed by Tom Tarjda and uses a flat 4 from lancia.
Yes I remember that! Petrolicious made an excellent video about it years ago, and I don't think I can do better than that
Can you imagine how much it cost to build so many different engines with different v angles, bores, strokes, and intake manifolds for such a small volume, all at once? Along with 3 completely different body styles with almost nothing structurally interchangeable? And that’s just in the Fuliva range! Lancia was also building the completely different Flavia, with its completely different flat-4 range, and its very different bodies. And the completely different Flaminia’s chassis, body, and V6 engine. Lancia was making less than 40,000 units total per year split between all
these engine families, chassis, and bodies. As lovely as they were, it was unsustainably inefficient.
But it seems like Fiat overcorrected with the Beta. Of all the Lancia engines Fiat kept, it was the Gamma’s troublesome flat 4 that lasted longest. They just threw Lancia’s V4/6 heritage out the window.
Also, the 1600HF Lusso is my dream car
Yes indeed, control of production costs wasn't Lancias's strongest point back then. The only thing I'd correct you about is the Gamma engine. Fiat didn't "keep" it, as the Gamma engine was entirely designed under Fiat ownership, although it can certainly be considered the last Lancia engine, as it was designed exclusively for the Gamma.
By 1968 the Flaminia was made in negligible numbers, and its V6 was an aging design anyway. To be honest, Fiat took over a rudderless Lancia and acted in a very generous and respectful way... But some tough choices had to be made anyway.
@@Matteo_Licata Good point about the Gamma flat-4. And about Fiat’s stewardship, particularly until they bought Alfa. In terms of quality and distinction, the Beta seemed as much a replacement for the Fulvia as the Autobianchi A111, though. Which is fair. Fiat didn’t have to keep Lancia going... they didn’t owe anyone the investment they made. Lancia was lucky to survive 1969 in any form, and the cars they made still managed to be remarkable in their own ways. But I am left wondering whether building a new, common Lancia V4 and V6 architecture for use in the Beta and Gamma would have been a better, and still cost-effective approach, than the Beta Fiat twin-cam/Gamma flat-4 course they took. The Gamma, in particular, would have benefitted from a more powerful and flexible engine that didn’t run the power steering pump off the timing belt. They went to the trouble of paying for an all-new engine family with the Gamma’s flat-4 that became the car’s Achilles Heel. A flexible V4/6 architecture would have seen much higher volumes if adapted to both the Beta and Gamma (and, likely, the Delta, Prisma, Thema, and successive models). But as it was, the flat-4 was confined to a lovely model that was doomed to low volumes. While the Beta lost some of the quality and distinction inherent in past Lancias.
@@judethaddaeus9742 One of the main reasons why the Fiat twin cam was used on the Beta is linked to its short development cycle. The Beta went from a blank sheet of paper to production in a staggering 18 months. Remember that this was done well before computers, so it's remarkable they managed to make it at all, let alone making it as good as it indeed was for its day.
There wasn't much time to lay down big plans and design a new engine family.
@@Matteo_Licata Ah ha... that makes sense. Lancia needed some new product with some volume potential and it makes sense that the Beta was fast tracked. I’d love to know how they were able to get it into production so quickly! Also, the Berlina is a much cleaner and more handsome design than it gets credit for, I think.
👍👍
The first one! Thank you, glad you like it!
@@Matteo_Licata excelent content my friend! Love Italian cars here in Argentina!
In its later years, the Flaminia was a bit short of breath compared with opposition. Imagine if Lancia had made a W8 based on the Fulvia 1.6 HF engine. It would have had 100bhp more than the most potent Flaminia engines, and been very compact.
Oh, and that resulting 3 litre W-8 might have been squeezed into a Fulvia Zagato....
Lancia had a VR 8too, and even a VR 12.
Spero che tu vada a collaborare con Greg e Bruce sulle tematiche Lancia. 👍
Non li conosco... Magari, chissà? :)
@@Matteo_Licata Greg Garage qui su UA-cam, fa dei video belli tosti, tira mazzate a giornalisti, case costruttrici, modelli di auto .. merita ... Con l 'altro fanno una rivista/magazine online a pagamento
@@Matteo_Licata Ma magari anche no! Tienitene lontano e continua col tuo grandissimo lavoro! Un caro saluto da un Duettista ;)
Wot we miss lancia
I think the Fulvia Coupé was a real design highlight but all the others, including the Zagato's, are a bit plump in my eyes. Furthermore: Aluminum heads on cast iron blocks can work well, untill the cooling system packs in. Then they are a liability. You know what I drive so you know where I got that esteemed bit of knowledge from. :-)
A Triumph Stag by any chance?
@@1258-Eckhart No, a Citroën XM 2.0 Turbo CT but now I know something new about the Stag! :-).
@@marcbrasse747 They're famous for warping their cylinder heads (but it can be rectified with extensive modifications). You end up in a huge cloud of steam on the hard shoulder :-(
why two dislikes?
I don't mind those. As soon as any video goes beyond 3 or 4k views, a few dislikes are an inevitability. Those are people that just want to be annoying. I don't care, one can never please everyone.
@@Matteo_Licata of course, you can't avoid dislikes, but i am just curious to know what happens in their heads. It is not a political channel and it is not a content that provokes division or arguments...
FIAT, please, save Lancia!!
Give us new Delta, based on Tipo, and Lybra, based on Giulia!
...and make Delta in 2-door body also!
and Lybra also!
....and Lancia finds itself in a very sad position now ..maybe it will become a trim level on a Jeep , nothing is forever I guess.
The Stellantis merger gives some hope that Lancia will survive in some way... But I don't really know what to expect.
I can see Saab copied this Lancia..This was a period that most car manufacturers relied on Italy for their cars design..all European. British and some Asian car companies made use of Italian designers.
I like being Italian 🤪
purtroppo la storia della beta e' sostanzialmente quella di un funerale... ma vabbe'...
Lancia's relentlessness for the rallies was, in my opinion, a serious mistake !! For different reasons. First of all it cost a lot of money. Too much for a small brand like Lancia. Then it took money and energy for what was most important: building great cars for CUSTOMERS! And third point and in my opinion the most devastating: the Lancia victories have provoked in other nations a jealousy and resentment which especially in Germany united people around their brand! And so they did not buy Lancia. Although Lancia was far superior. 😏🙄As Pirrus said: another Victory like this, and I'm lost !!!!
your last point surprises me - for me personally, if vehicle is excellent, I would buy it, no matter where it's from - but perhaps I'm not as patriotic (or jealous) as germans or british are
@@edombre4637in the 60s/70s/80s the main car buyers were USA, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, England...)and some smaler markets. the other states did not have the purchasing power. the usa only bought their "ships" and was not interesting for Eu cars ! Now you certainly don't know the jealous and sometimes hateful mentality of the europeans! These countries produce cars, and challenging them and winning rallies against them causes patriotic rallying around their brands. Specialy F and D! Even if this cars are big scrap as for example Volkswagen which was a "poor" car, in the 60/70... It is Major mistake to challenge them and win!. The Japanese, for example, did not make this mistake! The succes is visible!