Lancia Lambda

Introduction

LAMBDA. The name just rolls off the tongue. Instantly, without even seeing the car, the suggestion that it is a good car is there. In a way, this car set the bar for the imitators, such as the Bugattis, Fiats, MGs and Alfas. Let’s hope no aficionados of those marques reads this article, or the Unique Cars and Parts inbox will likely fill up with hate mail. All of those aforementioned cars were very good of course – but they need to be, because the Lambda was such a brilliant car.

In 1922 Vincenzo Lancia released the Lambda (the Greek letter after Kappa) and virtually stunned the motoring world. For the first time ever, the car brought these three features together...

• A narrow Vee engine
• Independent front suspension
• A monocoque body

The engine was a 13 degree V-4 (the same configuration would be used on Lancias up to the 1970s) and made in a very odd manner. The cast iron liners were arranged in a mould and the aluminium block and crankcase casting poured around them complete with oil filler, breather and all oilways. Originally the engine was 2020 cc. It was used in the Series 1-6 inclusive. The series 7 came with a 14 degree V-4 of 2370 cc and the Series 8 came with a 13 degree 40 minute V-4 of 2570 cc. Power outputs were 50, 59.4 and 69 bhp respectively.

In its day, the engine was very advanced. For one thing it had an oil filter which very few cars had. To eliminate the possibility of a lubrication failure, the car came with a half-gallon oil reserve tank which automatically filled the sump when the level dropped too low. The other engineering points - monocoque body and independent front suspension - were closely linked. It is a futile exercise to have an independent front end without having a good, rigid body. Monocoque is both light and strong - the Lambda became the first vehicle to get the full advantage out of IFS.

Taking The Mother For A Drive

In March 1921 the engineering staff at Lancia held a meeting to discuss front suspensions. The meeting was held because Vincenzo Lancia had suffered a broken front spring when he was taking his mother for a drive. Up to that point the cars had been fitted with a transverse leaf spring on the front axle - the loss of which could have resulted in the car going completely out of control. This breakage naturally disturbed them so they set about thinking of a better system. One of the new men at the meeting, Battista Falchetto, started thinking.

That night he designed no less than 14 front suspension assemblies. The next morning Vincenzo Lancia looked over the drawings and chose the one which would provide the best roadholding, the most accurate steering and the greatest margin of safety in case of a broke spring. The system chosen was a long hollow "king pin" pivoting and sliding-in glide tubes top and bottom which were integral with the stub axle. Two coil springs in compression bore on a thrust-race above the stub axle and a short snubber ran undamped. Lancia then invented the hydraulic shock absorber by simply filling the "king pin" with oil and putting in suitable valves.

Other innovations included four gears on the floor, making the Lambda one of the earliest cars to use a central remote linkage - the original "four-on-the-floor". Another major advance for the Lambda was four wheel brakes. Massive drums adorned each wheel and one magazine of the time tested them and found they gave nearly 1G deceleration - an effort cars built 50 years later would have been proud of. The technical innovations of the Lambda were staggering, it was comfortable, reasonably quiet, incredibly reliable and beautiful. All car designers had a lot to learn from the Lancia engineers from nearly 100 years ago. All the controls were placed exactly right for reach and the driving position was excellent. It truly was a magnificent car.

• 1st series, produced 1923, 400 built.
• 2nd series, produced between 1923 and 1924, 1,100 built. Minor modifications for engine.
• 3rd series, produced 1924, 800 built. Engine modified.
• 4th series, produced between 1924 and 1925, 850 built. Modified windscreen.
• 5th series, produced 1925, 1,050 built. 4-speed gearbox.
• 6th series, produced between 1925 and 1926, 1,300 built. Car is sold now with bare chassis and with two wheelbases.
• 7th series, produced between 1926 and 1928, 3,100 built. New bigger engine.
• 8th series, produced between 1928 and 1930, 3,903 built. Again bigger engine.
• 9th series, produced 1931, 500 built. Last series sold only bare chassis.