A little earlier this year (VRJ, Sept. 2002), we had the exceptionally rare pleasure of not only testing but competing in the iconic Lancia D50 Grand Prix car. Clearly, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime affairs. Such is the keen enthusiasm of some Lancia owners that we soon were taking the trip back nearly another half century from the mid-1950s of the D50 to the first decade of the 20th century, and to a vastly different era of motor racing. While the 1930s is often hailed as the “Golden Era” or the “Age of the Titans,” this seems to somewhat minimize the immense accomplishments of the early motor racing pioneers. Events like the Vanderbilt Cup and the Gordon Bennett races were vast endurance contests across open and unfinished roads, through towns and cities of the USA and Europe, and constituted important first attempts by vehicle manufacturers to make use of competition. Lancia was one of these manufacturers.
Background to Lancia ‘307’
Photo: Peter Collins
I recently read an article in the British Autocar magazine paying tribute to Lancia design as being the result of the “highest automobile engineering skill, fortified by profound road knowledge and experience.” The article went on to state that this was largely due to Signor Vincenzo Lancia’s “many successes in automobile races and his thorough engineering training.” The article was dated April 23, 1910.
