Lancia Aurelia B52 Vignale Coupé - Michelotti elegance for Gina Lollobrigida

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Lancia Aurelia B52 Vignale Coupé - Michelotti elegance for Gina Lollobrigida

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Created on July 9, 2017

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Tim Scott - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

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Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

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Bruno von Rotz

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the Michelotti Coupé cornering

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - elegant coupé with light-flooded interior

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - thin tires for the 1.2-ton coupé

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - very pleasant to drive on the country road

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - two main headlights plus additional front lights

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - also extremely elegant from the rear

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - some people think of Ferrari when they see the car coming

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - elegant coupé reminiscent of the Ferrari 212 and 250 Europa models from Vignale

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - you have to look closely to recognize that it's a Lancia

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - ready for the Concours d'Elégance

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - probably one of two such special bodies

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - pontoon shape, but the rear fenders are still slightly indicated

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Two-tone paintwork was popular at the time

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - View of the interior

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - all B52s were right-hand drive

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - wide-opening doors

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - bright and cozy cockpit

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - two door openers, there is a second lever on the door for rear passengers

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the dashboard is painted in body color

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - tidy driver's workplace with two large round instruments

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Ashtray for the rear passengers

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Ashtray in the seat backs of the front seats

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Mechanism of the sliding-folding roof

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Seat adjustment/locking

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Leather seats

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - accessibility to the engine is good

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the hood opens forwards

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - longitudinally mounted two-liter engine with 70 hp

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the V-engine has been upgraded to 70 hp with Nardi parts

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - with the V6, Lancia was ahead of its time at the time

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - no overhead camshafts

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Chassis number

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - handcrafted round radiator grille

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - artfully crafted radiator grille, hardly reminiscent of Lancia

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the hat on the hood distinguishes this car from another variant

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - "Lancia" is written on the wheel covers

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the official designation was "Aurelia 2000"

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - side decorations in a similar style to those used by Michelotti/Vignale on Ferrari models

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the sliding/folding roof

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - Filigree and recessed door openers

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - the door handle folds out at the touch of a button to open the door

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - generous trunk, spare wheel on the floor, fuel filler cap too

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - refueling in the trunk

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - artfully crafted spring to hold up the trunk lid

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - only two of the seven known Vignale coupés had vertical rear lights

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Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupé (1952) - with open roof

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Lancia Aurelia (1950) - an early sedan of the first series

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Lancia Aurelia (1950) - Autotelaio - self-supporting chassis for special bodies

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Lancia Aurelia (1952) - Chassis construction

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Previously known Lancia Aurelia 2000 B52 Vignale Coupés 1952 to 1953 at a glance

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Ferrari 212 Inter Berlina Vignale (1953) - with classic coupé bodywork

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Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale (1953) - on display at the Paris Motor Show in 1953, chassis 295EU

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Lancia Aurelia Coupé 2000 Vignale (1952) - with characteristic central headlight

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Lancia Aurelia B52 2000 Coupé Vignale (1952) - as lot 123 at the RM/Sotheby's auction at Villa Erba 2017

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Lancia Aurelia Coupé B 52 Vignale (1952) - appeared lighter and more elegant than the standard coupé

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Lancia Aurelia B52 Vignale (1953) - in the special exhibition of the Lopresto collection - Rétromobile 2015

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Summary

Vignale was one of the largest and best-known Italian coachbuilders in the fifties and sixties. Alfredo Vignale was a master of his trade and his bodies were among the most attractive and sought-after. The Lancia Aurelia B52 Coupé from 1952, designed by the prolific Giovanni Michelotti, is no exception. On the contrary. This report describes the history of the elegant Lancia and shows it in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Lancia and the coachbuilders
The B52 and Alfredo Vignale
Seven coupés?
Flat radiator coupé with star appeal
The Coupé B52-1026
At the steering wheel of a Concours winner

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Vignale was one of the largest and best-known Italian coachbuilders in the fifties and sixties. Alfredo Vignale was a master of his trade and his bodies were among the most attractive and sought-after. Whether Fiat or Ferrari, Triumph or Cunningham, Alfa Romeo or Maserati, Vignale used chassis from both Italian and foreign car manufacturers. Lancia was also one of the chassis suppliers and Vignale delivered some of its most beautiful creations, especially on the Aurelia. With the new Lancia Aurelia presented at the Turin Motor Show in May 1950, the fate of the coachbuilders was almost sealed. The self-supporting factory saloon with the newly developed V6 engine with a displacement of 1.8 liters, 56 hp and transaxle transmission met almost all requirements and modifications to the coupé or convertible were difficult to produce due to the unibody design. However, Lancia naturally also thought of its loyal business partners, the Carrozzerias, and was also able to satisfy the eclectic wishes of its more demanding customers. And so the Lancia engineers around Vittorio Jano also developed an independent B50 chassis on which individual bodies could then be built.

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