The Lancia Appia is a passenger car introduced in 1953 by Italian car manufacturer Lancia as a replacement for the Ardea, and which remained in production for ten years. The Appia was the last in a long line of Lancia production cars dating back to the Lancia Lambda (introduced in 1922) to use sliding pillar front suspension. All three series produced had a 1089cc Lancia V4 engine.
In addition to the saloon, a number of special bodied Appias were produced, including a coupé by Pinin Farina, a convertible and 2-door saloon by Vignale and an aluminium-bodied GT by Zagato, as well as light commercial vehicle variants. In total 107,000 Appia were built: 98,000 saloons, 3,863 commercial vehicles, and 5,161 chassis supplied to coachbuilders. Following a custom started in the postwar years, the new model was named after a Roman consular road, the Via Appia.
The saloon
Background In 1950 Lancia had introduced its first all-new postwar model, the Lancia Aurelia, a small but expensive luxury car with sophisticated engineering features like the first ever V6 engine, inboard rear brakes and a transaxle gearbox. Alongside it Lancia was still producing the Lancia Ardea, a pre-war design that although once innovative was in need of replacement. The new small Lancia was designed under engineer Vittorio Jano. Initially an updated version of the Ardea's 17° V4 engine was considered, but a clean-sheet design was ultimately chosen. At little over 10°, the new V4 had the narrowest angle of any V4 engine, and used solutions unprecedented at Lancia, like dual in-block camshafts in place of overhead ones. As the Ardea resembled a scaled-down Aprilia, the Appia mimicked the Aurelia's appearance, substituting its exotic parts with more cost-effective ones, such as a solid axle and a four-speed gearbox in block with the engine. For its mechanical features—sliding pillar front suspension, V4 engine, rear-wheel drive, absence of a centre pillar—the Appia can be considered the last in a line of Lancias which stretched back to the 1922 Lambda.
First series The Appia Berlina (saloon/sedan) was introduced in April 1953 at the Turin Motor Show. The chassis code is C10 for the right hand drive saloon—the standard version, as was customary at Lancia—and C10S (from Sinistra, Italian for "left") for the left hand drive variant, available on request. Under the Appia's bonnet there is a 38 PS 1.1-litre engine, which according to the manufacturer could push the car to . The body style is similar to the Lancia Aurelia. To save weight the doors and rear fenders of the first few thousand examples were aluminium. The bumpers were also aluminium, making them easily dented. Rubber stripping was added later, to protect them from minor impacts. In a design inaugurated by the 1933 Lancia Augusta, rear doors were aft-hinged suicide doors, eliminating the B-pillar. A spare tyre, the fuel filler and the battery were located in the trunk/boot. The interior featured bucket front seats, a column-mounted shifter, ivory plastic steering wheel and switches, and panno Lancia wool cloth upholstery in grey or beige. Running on 155HR15 Pirelli Cinturato tyres. In total 20,025 first series saloons were made, from 1953 to 1956. Of these, the majority—10,257—were right hand drive, and the remaining 9,768 left hand drive.
The Appia sold in smaller numbers than projected. In 1956, Italian car magazine Quattroruote attributed this to the price, competition from the Fiat 1100/103 and Alfa Romeo Giulietta, and a host of minor flaws, e.g., the aluminium bumpers (which however were shared with early Aurelias) — indicating a hasty, low-priority development when Lancia was diverting many of its limited resources to its sports car racing efforts.
Second series
In April 1955 engineer Antonio Fessia joined Lancia as technical director, and started off fixing the Appia's shortcomings. Jano left shortly after, when Lancia withdrew from Formula 1. The resulting second series Appia, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1956, had a more powerful engine, a modernized body and better interior room, although the bucket seats were replaced with a bench seat and there was a considerable weight increase, which largely cancelled out the increase in power . The C10 and C10S type codes were kept. The rear part of the body had been redesigned to enlarge the boot, and the wheelbase was stretched by to provide better rear seat accommodation; this resulted in a growth in length. From the front the second series could be recognized from its rectangular instead of round turn signal lamps and the steel bumpers with overriders. The fuel filler cap was moved outside, under a locking flap on the right hand side rear wing. Fessia's changes to the engine included lowering the compression ratio, redesigning the cylinder head incorporating hemispherical combustion chambers and a new arrangement of the valves, new pistons, a new carburettor and different camshaft profiles. Output increased to 43 PS, and top speed to . In the cabin a front bench seat took place of the two single ones, the binnacle held two round instruments, and steering wheel and switchgear went from ivory to black.
Despite—previously critical—Quattroruote having declared the Appia "finally accomplished and convincing", sales did not take off yet. In May 1958 daily production still lingered at 27 cars per day, far short of the 50 anticipated during the car's development. In total 22,425 second series saloons were made, only 3,180 of them C10 right hand drive cars.
Third series In March 1959, the third series Appia was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show with a new front end. Lancia's traditional radiator shell-style grille was ultimately abandoned, in favour of an horizontal one inspired by the Lancia Flaminia flagship. Engine power went up again to 48 PS, as did top speed, to . The braking system was improved with twin leading shoe front drum brakes and a "Duplex" dual hydraulic circuit during the 1960 model year. Model designations were different from the previous two series: 808.807 for the LHD variant, and 808.808 for the RHD one. In its third iteration the Appia was finally mature, and 55,577 saloons were made, the vast majority in left hand drive.
Replacing the Appia At the end of the 1950s, with third series Appia sales soaring, Lancia CEO Fidanza advocated preparing a fourth series with an all-new body. Fessia, a strong proponent of front-wheel drive, was reluctant about updating the old design, and moreover one that was Jano's brainchild. In the end Fessia had the upper hand, as Fidanza had come to grips with the board and resigned. The Lancia Fulvia was developed and introduced in 1963, a clean-sheet design reprising the longitudinal front-wheel drive layout of Fessia's larger Flavia, but with Lancia's final narrow vee V4 engine.
Commercial variants
Starting with 1954 Lancia also built light commercial bodies on the Appia chassis, replacing the analogous versions of the earlier Ardea. Three models were offered: the Furgoncino panel van (chassis code C80 or C80S for left hand drive), Camioncino pick-up (C83 or C83S), and an ambulance based on the Furgoncino, the Autolettiga (C86 or C86S). In respect to the saloon, all had shorter final drives, lower horsepower engines, widened axle tracks, upsized 16-inch wheels and larger tyres—and consequently bodywork altered to accept these modifications. With the introduction of the second series Appia in 1954 all three models received upgrades similar to the saloon's, while keeping the body style almost untouched. Commercial variants were not upgraded to third series specifications, as during 1959 they were phased out in favour of a forward control full-fledged van using Appia drivetrains, the Lancia Jolly.
Appia commercial vehicles, dimensions and weights C80/C80SFurgoncino C83/C83SCamioncino C86/C86SAutolettiga Wheelbase Length Width Height Kerb weight Payload —
Coachbuilt variants
First series Appias were only offered in factory body styles. This changed with the second and third series Appias, which were also built as a platform chassis intended for coachbuilt bodies. Towards the end of 1955 a first batch of 14 chassis based on the brand new second series Appia were built and handed over to some of the most prominent coachbuilders of the time: Allemano, Boano, Ghia Aigle, Motto, Pinin Farina, Vignale and Zagato. Initially all fourteen chassis were coded tipo 812.00, based on standard saloon mechanicals; five of were upgraded to a more powerful 53 PS engine and floor-mounted shifter, and given the new type designation 812.01. At the April 1956 Turin Motor Show, a month after the successful introduction of the second series Appia in Geneva, five specially bodied Appias were shown: a coupé and a two-door saloon by Vignale, a coupé each from Pinin Farina, Boano and Zagato. Between Spring 1956 and Spring 1957 the coachbuilders presented their one-off interpretations of the Appia at various motor shows. Later more 812.01 chassis were built, bringing the total of unique to thirteen.
Of the coachbuilders who had worked on the first fourteen chassis, two were selected by Lancia to produce special Appia body styles: Pinin Farina for the coupé, and Vignale for the convertible. Their nearly definitive proposals debuted at the March 1957 Geneva Motor Show, and soon went into limited series production. Built by their respective designers on chassis supplied by Lancia, these were included in Lancia's own catalogue and regularly sold through Lancia dealerships. In the later years other variants were added to the official portfolio: Vignale's Lusso, Zagato's GTE and Sport, and Viotti's Giardinetta. All of these variants were built on the 812.01 type chassis with the more powerful engine and floor shifter; when the third series saloon debuted its mechanical upgrades were transferred to the chassis, and the engine gained one horsepower 54 PS. In early 1960 a revised, more powerful engine was adopted, putting out 60 HP thanks to a new Weber carburettor and an inlet manifold with a duct per each cylinder. In total 5,161 Appia chassis for coachbuilders were made.
+ Lancia Appia chassis, type codes and models Type Prod.number Series Application Notes 812.00 14 2 1956 prototypes Standard saloon engine, column shifter; 5 converted to 812.01 812.01 2, 3 All series 2 coachbuilt variants, plus some series 3: Coupés, all Convertibiles, Zagato GT/GTS/GTE Introduced the more powerful engine and the floor shifter. 13 with one-off bodies, 5 of them converted from 812.00 812.02 477 3 Appia Lusso (Vignale) Strengthened chassis 812.03 3 Appia GTE Last GTEs built 812.04 730 3 Appia Coupé (Pinin Farina/Viotti) Last Coupés built 812.05 200 3 Appia Sport (Zagato) Short wheelbase 808.21 300 3 Appia Giardinetta (Viotti) Standard saloon engine, column shifter
Appia Coupé
Pinin Farina built a 2+2 coupé version between 1957 and 1963. Pinin Farina's first proposal, from the 1956 Turin Motor Show, was a 4-seater coupé based on an 812.00 chassis and reminiscent of the Lancia Florida prototype, which Lancia's management did not find satisfactory. Therefore, Pinin Farina set off to work on a second prototype, a 2+2 on one of the five more powerful 812.01 chassis, shown with Lancia's blessing at the March 1957 Geneva Motor Show. Shortly after the Motor Show the car went into small series production, christened Appia Coupé. The Coupé was characterised by a wide grille—which previewed Pinin Farina's own Lancia Flaminia as well as the third series Appia berlina, by a V-shaped B-pillar parting the side window from the wrap-around rear window, and by a two-tone paint scheme. The tail lights were trapezoidal element inset in the rear fins. Bodies were steel, with a fibreglass boot lid.