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Lancia Lambda - one of the most advanced cars of all time celebrates its 100th birthday

Name: Lancia Lambda 1921
Brand: Lancia

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Created on September 1, 2021

Text:

Joachim Griese / Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Bertone

Gerard Brown

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Bertone

Gerard Brown

Archiv

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the individually suspended front wheels resulted in very good road holding

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the Lancia would still manage around 120 km/h today

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - only 1.67 m narrow

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the gears have to be changed with intermediate clutches and intermediate throttle

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the handling is better than some of its competitors from the time

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - is not only a pleasure to drive at the Mille Miglia

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - drives much better than the age of over 90 years would suggest

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - weighing around 1.4 tons according to the sales literature of the time

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - no side windows

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - fits well on an airfield

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Lancia Lambda VIII series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - on the right behind the Lancia you can see a rare Bücker

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - almost five meters long with the long wheelbase of 3.42 meters

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - with the roof down, a tarpaulin could also be stretched over the unused parts of the car

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Lancia Lambda VIII series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the later series had larger doors

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - passengers only benefited to a limited extent from the overall width

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the original instruments came from Jaeger

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - extensively instrumented

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the doors may have become longer, but the entrance still requires maneuverability

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - chassis number also on the dashboard

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Lancia Lambda VIII series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - a loading bridge could be attached using these openings

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - A look under the hood

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the V4 engine proudly shows the manufacturer

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the V4 engine is quite short, so that the gearbox also fitted under the hood

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the V4 engine has two spark plugs on each side

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - Intermediate tank for gasoline in the engine compartment

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - Operating instructions under the hood

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - Headlights from Bosch

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - angular radiator grille

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Lancia Lambda VIII series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the current owner uses these more modern spoke wheels for long distances

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - the extremely advanced design of the independent front suspension

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - large spoked wheels with balloon tires

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Lancia Lambda VIII series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - complex part for the engine compartment ventilation

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - elegance combined with function

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - Ventilation slots on the hood

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Lancia Lambda VIII series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - unconventionally designed original rim that does not look the same all round

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Lancia Lambda VIII Series Torpedo Lungo (1928) - Closure of the rear trunk lid

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Lancia Lambda Prototipo (1921) - without fenders and windshield

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Lancia Lambda (1922) - unplanked bodyshell

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Lancia Lambda IV series (1924) - as a sedan with balloon tires

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Lancia Lambda VII (1925) - V4 engine, from the manual

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Lancia Lambda VII (1925) - Front suspension

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Lancia Lambda VIIIA series (1928) - taken in the seventies

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - front view

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - one of the Lambda's achievements was the trunk integrated into the bodywork

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - the vehicle body tapers elegantly towards the rear

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Lancia Lambda VIII series (1928) - View into the cockpit

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - A hodgepodge of fittings

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - Cockpit

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - Generous legroom - the exterior rear door handles are missing to make it easier to attach suitcases to the running boards

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - sweeping front fenders - the factory train boxes are embedded in them

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Lancia Lambda Series 8A (1928) - V-4 engine

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Lancia Lambda VIII series (1928) - with closed bodywork

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Lancia Lambda VIII series (1929) - from the work of Bertone

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Lancia Lambda VIII series (1928) - open and with tarpaulin

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Lancia Lambda VIII Torpedo Lungo (1928) - as a long open touring car with six seats

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Lancia Lambda Sport (1931) - at the Klausen Race 1932, E. A. H. Schoeten from Bern

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Lancia Lambda IX series (1931) - one of the last models

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Lancia Lambda (1922) - four-door touring car of the first series

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Lancia Lambda Series 8 (1929) - bodied by Stabilimenti Farina, for sale at Christoph Grohe - Auto e Moto d'Epoca 2014

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Lancia Lambda 8th series on the red carpet

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Lancia Lambda (1927) - Day 19 - Perm - Kazan - Rally Beijing-Paris 2016

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Lancia Lambda (1927) - Class "G1 - Sportives - Avant 1930" - Concours d'Elégance Suisse Coppet 2017

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Lancia Lambda Series Vlll (1928) - Class A 06 - Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2019

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Summary

With the Lancia Lambda, Vincenzo Lancia presented an extremely innovative automobile in the 1920s which, with its self-supporting body and independent front suspension, remained attractive and competitive long after it had been built. The test drive of the first prototype took place on September 1, 1921, and this date is therefore regarded as the birth of the Lambda. This article tells the story of the model series, portrays an example from 1928 and illustrates the milestone with historical pictures, sales material and a manual from the time.

This article contains the following chapters

Innovation boost
Fast progress towards the production version
Production in nine series
On board a Lambda of the eighth series
A not atypical Lambda history
Unbroken enthusiasm for the Lambda after the war ... and to this day

Estimated reading time: 17min

Preview (beginning of the article)

On September 1, 2021, the Lancia Lambda will celebrate its 100th birthday all over the world - and even today it can still be seen on the road and in motorsport events from time to time - yes, they say "the Lambda". Who would have thought it! With its characteristics, the Lambda was 20 years ahead of its time in technical terms: However, this car was not only an innovative design, it was also in demand long after it was built and experienced a veritable renaissance after the Second World War. The starting point was patent 171922 dated March 28, 1919, from the company Lancia and C. for a chassis-free vehicle.

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