 | On
November 3, 1960, the Lancia Flavia was introduced at the Autosalone
Internazionale di Torino. With its sobre, functional lines, front-wheel
drive and flat-four engine it was a truly innovative car in the best
Lancia tradition. It had to fill the gap between Appia and Flaminia that
by 1960 had grown so large that an in-between model was badly needed.
The fist series Berlina was certainly not to be the only model in the
Flavia range. |
Already at the
Autosalone Internazionale di Torino in 1961, the Flavia Coupe was presented.
Pininfarina proposed an elegant design that was generally regarded as a
successful interpretation of the difficult and functional lines of the
Berlina. Looking back today, the Flavia coupe can be regarded as one of
Pininfarina's best designs and quintessential for Italian car design of the
early Sixties.
But just four months later, at the 1962 Autosalon
Internationale de Geneve, two more models were presented: a Convertibile
meant for open-air touring and a lightweight Sport. |
 |
 
| | Giovanni Michelotti designed the Vignale-built
Convertibile in the style that characterizes his later work so well:
an elegant, flowing front, a sobre and timeless side line and sharp-cut
rear end. |
On the other hand, Elio and Gianni
Zagato tried the extreme to create an aerodynamic and lightweight design.
The low profile combined with side windows curving into the roof line,
and the concave rear screen that could be opened electrically was not to
everyone's taste.
Late 1963 a new model was presented: the
Flavia-based Superjolly. It was to succeed the Appia-derived Jolly van,
as well as the Beta 190 light truck. It was available in a wide variety
of models, ranging from pick-up truck to school bus and ambulance. |
 |
 | Early
1967 saw the appearance of the second series, usually called the 'Milleotto'
as most cars that were sold were equipped with an 1800 cc engine. While
the sales was promising during the first years, the Milleotto did not
succeed in restoring the sagging sales figures. At the same time, customers
could choose from four engines, most of them available with column shift
and floor shift. Producing all these variants in relatively small series
did not help to control costs and thus compensate for the enormous losses
caused by the Flaminia: by the late Sixties, Lancia was heading towards
bankruptcy. |
| While in 1962
and 1963, about one third of the total Flavia production consisted of
coupes, by 1968 this had plummeted to negligible quantities. Thus, an
updated version of the Coupe was considered: a 2-litre engine would
better ward off competition, while a more modern body style would herald
the Seventies. In March 1969 the new Flavia Coupe 2000 was presented.
With only minimal changes, Pininfarina created the effect of presenting
an entirely new model. And in the summer of 1969 the 2-litre engine
was available for the berlina as well, but this could not prevent the
takeover by Fiat in October 1969. |  |
 |
Because of the financial difficulties of the previous years, no successor
of the Flavia was being planned. Therefore, one of the first decisions the
new management took was to give the Flavia a new face lift, retaining only the
2000-variants, and dropping the name Flavia in favour of the name Lancia 2000.
At the same time, rumours of a successor to the Flavia range were being
circulated.
The 2000, however, both in Berlina and Coupe form, remained
in production until the end of 1973, when the oil crisis forced production to halt
before a successor could be presented. |
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