Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 - breakfast with Audrey Hepburn

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 - breakfast with Audrey Hepburn

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Created on November 14, 2025

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Archiv / Public Domain

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ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Comet Photo AG (Zürich) / Com_C05-271-003 / CC BY-SA 4.0

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Archiv / Paramount Pictures

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Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Lancia / FCA Group / Werk

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Archiv

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - a very large car for the time

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - length 485.5 cm, width 175 cm, height 148 cm

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - wheelbase 287 cm

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - stately appearance

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - a trunk with a volume of 470 liters is hidden under the lid

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - seems to be ready for Audrey Hepburn's next ride

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - you can't see the De Dion rear axle, but it's there

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - length runs

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - also had to meet American tastes

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - simply designed, but not without chrome accents

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - the sedan runs at 170 km/h

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - the standing kilometer could be completed in 36.7 seconds

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - you had to reckon with a fuel consumption of around 13.9 liters

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - fun even on narrower roads

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - on the road

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - pleasant touring car

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - moves away

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - at 1.75 m not too wide for narrow country roads

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - View of the interior, there is room for three people in the front and rear

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - large steering wheel, gearshift on the right, handbrake under the dashboard

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - solid blinker lever

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - shifting is done with the lever on the right side of the steering wheel

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - Handbrake under the dashboard

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - starting with the key, you just have to memorize the meaning of the buttons next to it

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - Door handle and window regulator

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - Leather upholstery

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - six cylinders at a 60-degree angle, 2775 cm3

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - one downdraft twin carburetor Solex C 40 PAIA was enough for 129 hp

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - Lancia lettering on the cylinder head

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - the design is somewhat reminiscent of Ferrari

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - two front lights arranged one above the other

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - classic radiator grille and air for the engine to breathe

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - the characteristic rear lights

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - a fin extends from the rear window to the rear light

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - a special design detail is the bumper that leads upwards into the pointed rear light

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - this side window can be opened with negative pressure from the driver's seat

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - curved C-pillar as a design feature

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - Lancia emblem in the C-pillar

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina 2.8 (1967) - lettering on the rear

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Lancia Aurelia B10 Berlina (1951 - the limousine with the counter-rotating doors

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Lancia Aurelia B20 GT (1953) - Series 3 Coupé

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Lancia Florida (1956) - the third prototype by Pininfarina, more coupé-oriented, but again with four doors

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Lancia Florida (1955) - prototype of the later Flaminia from Pininfarina, built on a B 55 chassis - fully retractable side windows, panoramic windshield, etc.

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Lancia Aurelia Florida Pinin Farina (1955) - in elegant two-tone paintwork

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Lancia Aurelia Florida Pinfin Farina (1955) - at a Concours International d'Elégance Autombile

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Lancia Florida (1958) - another prototype, titled Coupé Florida II

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Lancia Aurelia Berlina Florida Pinin Farina (1955) - with doors opening in opposite directions

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Lancia Florida (1955) - the second Pininfarina prototype in the Flaminia direction - this time with four doors

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Lancia Florida Pinin Farina (1956) - doors opening in opposite directions - Geneva Motor Show 1956

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Lancia Flaminia (1956) - Headlights on the prototype

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Lancia Flaminia (1956) - Interior of the prototype

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Lancia Aurelia Berlina Florida Pinin Farina (1956) - consummate elegance, designed by Battista Pininfarina

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Lancia Flaminia (1956) - the last prototype, shown at the Turin Motor Show, came very close to the production version except for the rear-hinged doors

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Lancia Flaminia (1956) - one of the last pre-series versions

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Lancia Flaminia (1957) - production version at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show

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Lancia Flaminia (1957) - production version of the four-door saloon shown for the first time - Geneva Motor Show 1957

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Lancia Flaminia (1956) - Salon Turin 1956 - Chassis without bodywork

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Lancia Flaminia (1956) - Salon Turin 1956 - the solid chassis construction

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Lancia Flaminia 2800 (1968) - 129 CUNA horsepower and De Dion rear axle - Geneva Motor Show 1968

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina (1964) - Trapezoidal line

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina (1959) - for people who had made it

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Lancia Flaminia (1964) - the 2.8 liter V6 engine

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Lancia Flaminia (1967) - technology package - left differential gear unit (transaxle), right front suspension

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Lancia Flaminia (1957) - Front, hood raised

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Lancia Flaminia (1957) - standard version with normal opening doors

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Lancia Flaminia (1962) - the Italian Rolls-Royce

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Lancia Flaminia (1957) - simple but very elegant design of the workplace - Geneva Motor Show 1957

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Lancia Flaminia (1963) - as Berlina with 2.8-liter V6

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Lancia Flaminia (1963) - as Berlina with 2.8-liter V6

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Lancia Flaminia (1963) - as a four-door Berlina

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Lancia Flaminia (1963) - rear end of the "progenitor", Peugeot 404 and Austin Cambridge followed this trend

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina (1963) - medium-sized luxury vehicle based on a design by Pininfarina

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Lancia Flaminia Berlina (1964) - unchanged in overall design, but equipped with a larger engine of 2775 cm3 - Geneva Motor Show 1964

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Lancia Flaminia (1963) - Rear view of the Berlina with the 2.8-liter lettering

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Lancia Flaminia (1967) - as Berlina with chauffeur

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Audrey Hepburn on the Bürgenstock in 1981

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Summary

The Lancia Flaminia saloon was built for almost 13 years and owed its shape to one of the most famous styling studies of all time. Six seats and Granturismo-capable performance spoke in favor of the four-door model, although the two-door versions were built more frequently. One of the rare Berlina variants belonged to the famous actress Audrey Hepburn. This article tells the story of the Flaminia Berlina and its association with the Hollywood star.

This article contains the following chapters

From the Florida to the Flaminia
Series production from 1957
Very expensive ...
... but also very good
More power and fewer windshield wipers in the second series
Increased displacement for the third series
Built for a long time
The car for the Hollywood actress
Elegance on the road

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

At first glance, it may seem unusual to give a world-famous film star a car whose design is already 10 years old. But the Lancia Flaminia - we are deliberately using the feminine form here - was still a fine automobile in its tenth year of production, simply the Rolls-Royce of Italy. Audrey Hepburn remained loyal to the car for several years. And enjoyed the many interesting technical solutions and the still elegant design. In April 1955, a one-off called the "Florida" was on the Pinin Farina stand at the Turin Motor Show. The name was Pinin Farina's way of "returning the favor" to the Americans, as they had also adopted Italian names for their cars, wrote the "Automobil Revue", noting of the new coupé, which was based on the B55 chassis of the Lancia Aurelia 2nd series: "In this car, in addition to the horizontal line, emphasis is placed above all on a sloping line falling towards the rear, which is encountered again at the door edges and makes access to the rear seats more difficult because of the projecting part that is created in the process. As a study of a new line, however, it deserves a great deal of attention. The same car also features two pairs of small headlights for high beam and low beam, an expensive but high-quality solution, as well as an exemplary panoramic windshield and the aforementioned measures to improve rear visibility (snow and sun protection, windshield wipers)."

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