Lancia Aurelia B53 Coupe by Allemano
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Automobilhersteller : |
Lancia |
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Modell: |
Aurelia B53 Coupe by Allemano |
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Jahr: |
1952 |
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Art: |
Coupe |
The Lancia Aurelia is a car that was produced by the Italian manufacturer Lancia. Designed by Vittorio Jano, the Aurelia was launched in 1950 and production lasted until the summer of 1958.
The Aurelia used the first production V6 engine, a 60° design developed by Francesco de Virgilio who was, between 1943 and 1948 a Lancia engineer, and who worked under Jano. During production, capacity grew from 1.8 L to 2.5 L. Prototype engines used a bore and stroke of 68 mm x 72 mm for 1569 cc; these were tested between 1946 and 1948. It was an all-alloy pushrod design with a single camshaft between the cylinder banks. A hemispherical combustion chamber and in-line valves were used. A single Solex or Weber carburettor completed the engine. Some uprated 1991 cc models were fitted with twin carburettors.
At the rear was an innovative combination transaxle with the gearbox, clutch, differential, and inboard-mounted drum brakes. The front suspension was a sliding pillar design, with rear semi-trailing arms replaced by a de Dion tube in the Fourth series. The Aurelia was also first car to be fitted with radial tires as standard equipment
The very first Aurelias were the B10 berlinas (sedans). They used a 1754 cc version of the V6 which produced 56hp (42 kW). The B21 was released in 1951 with a larger 1991 cc 70hp (52 kW) engine. A 2-door B20 GT coupé appeared that same year. It had a shorter wheelbase and a Ghia-designed, Pininfarina-built body. The same 1991 cc engine produced 75hp (56 kW) in the B20. In all, 500 first series Aurelias were produced.
First prototype shown at 1950 Turin Car Show. Produced in small numbers, around 265 cars, by cabriolet-specialist Pinin Farina, B50 Cabriolet was a four-seat comfortable cruiser. Powered by 1,754cc engine. Majority of the production was done between 1950 -1952. Only four were upgraded to 2,000cc specification, retaining their B50 chassis numbers. Powered by 1,754cc engine. Some cars had an improved B52 platform.
The second series Aurelia coupé pushed power up to 80hp (60 kW) from the 1991 cc V6 with a higher compression ratio and repositioned valves. Other changes included better brakes and minor styling tweaks, such as chromed bumpers instead of the aluminium ones used in the earlier car. A new dashboard featured two larger instrument gauges. The suspension was unchanged from the first series. A new B22 sedan was released in 1952 with dual Webers and a hotter camshaft for 90hp (67 kW).
At the Turin Motor Show in the spring of 1952, Pinin Farina debuted a new concept car built on a Lancia B52 Aurelia chassis alongside their freshly redesigned Nash-Healey. The B52 chassis is notable in that only 98 examples were constructed, and all were sent to bespoke coachbuilders for one-off or limited-run production. Pinin Farina’s new Aurelia was abundant with Jet Age styling cues and featured a protruding circular nose with a large chromed bezel, reminiscent of the intake of an F-86 Sabre fighter plane. A raked windshield, pontoon-style fenders, and uninterrupted beltlines led to a finned tail that had six individual exhaust tips emerging immediately above the rear bumper.
PF200 first of a short run of similarly styled cars that Pinin Farina built over the next four years, which all featured the signature gaping nose and general proportions of the first Turin car. This run principally consisted of two more open-top cars and three to four coupes.
Each PF200 varied slightly from the last, with only the prototype featuring the circular nose. Succeeding versions were constructed with more elliptic noses, while some had standard tailpipes, and others featured the bumper-through exhausts of the original Turin car. Even the three open cars varied from one another, as one had a removable top and side curtains (in true spider fashion) and the others featured wind-up windows and a more permanent soft-top.
The PF200’s styling did not go unnoticed by the public, and it spurred the build of at least two more similarly styled cars on American chassis. Jazz impresario Norman Granz saw the prototype PF200 Roadster at Turin in 1952 and ordered similar bodywork on a Cadillac 62 chassis, while Pinin Farina took their design a step further with the Palm Beach Special of 1956, which was built on a Nash Rambler chassis.
With the announcement of the B20 Coupé, a 2,000cc engine was introduced, which was also made available for the platform chassis, designated B52 or B53 (again depending on gearing/tyres). It is estimated that fewer than 90 B53 chassis were produced, the Allemano-bodied example offered here having been created for the 1953 Turin Motor Show. Carrozzeria Allemano had been founded in Turin in 1928 by Serafino Allemano, specializing at first in the repair of cars before switching exclusively to design work in the mid-1930s
