Lancia D24

Lancia D24 – Car Profiles

In 1937 Vincenzo Lancia passed away leaving his widow and teenage son Gianni Lancia to run the firm. The Second World War intervened with the ambitious young Lancia’s plans, but as soon as the hostilities ceased the work continued to greatly expand Lancia and to build a racing department that would rival Ferrari. He had hired legendary designer Vittorio Jano firstly to design a new saloon, but also to set up this racing program.

The first sign of the new direction was the Aurelia launched in 1950, which featured independent suspension all-round and a very compact V6 engine. Lancia’s trademark was the small angle V-engine that had been in use since the late teens, and the Italian company was also the first to produce a car with a unitary construction where the body and frame form one structural member.