Lancia Aurelia B52 Cabriolet PF200 by Pininfarina
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Car producer : |
Lancia |
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Model: |
Aurelia B52 Cabriolet PF200 by Pininfarina |
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Year: |
1952-1953 |
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Type: |
Roadster |
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
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. Some cars had an improved B52 platform.
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.
This unique roadster was dubbed the PF200 and was the 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.
