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CONTENTS |
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Under
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Not finished |
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Under
construction |
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Under
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Not finished |
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Under
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THE HF BADGE & THE RED ELEPHANT |
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THE RED ELEPHANT |
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There are many contradicting stories
with regards to the origin of the red elephant on all Lancia's competition
cars. We believe the following to be correct… |
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In 1952, Scuderia Lancia competed in
the Giro di Sicily with an Aurelia Series 2 with a lowered roof line. One of
the drivers - Enrico Anselmi - had used an elephant as a personal emblem on
his car for some years. He allowed the Lancia team to use "his"
elephant. That was the first time the elephant was used on a Lancia
competition car. |
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The symbol of the galloping elephant
apparently originates in Eastern mythology as a symbol of victory, providing
the trunk is stretched forward. This is how the elephant chosen by Gianni
Lancia was drawn, first in light blue and later as now in bright red. |
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THE HIGH FIDELITY
LOGO |
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In 1960, an exclusive club for loyal
Lancia owners - the Hi.Fi. Club - was
set up at the Geneva Motor Show by Lancia's Dr. Alfredo Della Seta.
"Hi.Fi." stood for High Fidelity and owners who had purchased at
least 6 new Lancia cars during any period were eligable for membership. Their
radiator badge was engraved with the initials of the owner and the year of
their first Lancia purchase. Stars corresponding to the number of Lancia cars
owned were attached to the badge (white star for one car, blue for five and
red for ten). |
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In 1961, the Flaminia Coupes
competing in the European Touring car series (of which one was driven by
Giorgio Pianta, one of the engineers heavily involved with the development of
the later sports and rally cars) started using the letters H and F. |
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In 1963, a group of amateur owners
set up the unofficial Lancia competition team. By 1965 this group grew into
the official Lancia Squadra Corsa which had Cesare Fiorio as a freelance
manager. His team combined the galloping red elephant and the letters "HF"
on their cars. |
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In 1966, the letters "HF"
for the first time were included in the name of the legendary Fulvia HF coupe
which remained practically unbeatable on the world rally stages. The
incredible success of the Fulvia HF ensured the "HF" badge became
associated with high performance in motorsport and it was decided to make the
"HF" sign the official logo of the company's sports cars. This
tradition was further implemented when the mythical Stratos HF dominated
rallying between 1974 and 1978. |
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In 1983, the HF logo was adopted
again for the Delta HF turbo and thereafter on the Delta HF 4WD and the HF
Integrale. With the introduction of the Evolution model of the Integrale, the
HF letters were combined with the galloping red elephant. The elephants had
been on the original badges for the Fulvia HF and the Stratos, however, at
that time there were four elephants displayed. |
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FORMULA 1 - LANCIA D50 |
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In 1953, after Lancia had been very
successful with its D23 and D24 road racers, Gianni Lancia decided to aim at
competing at the highest level of motorsport, a domain that was
"owned"by the giants of that era - the Ferrari Supersqualo and the Mercedes-Benz
W196. |
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The most famous racing car designer
of that period was attracted - Vittorio Jano - the man responsible for the
legendary Alfa Romeos P2 and P3. By introducing innovative and revolutionary
design measurements, he created an absolute masterpiece - not only from a
technical point of view but also aesthetically the car turned out to be,
compared to its competitors, one of the most harmonious and proportionally
pleasing single seater racing cars of all time . The list of major
innovations is impressive: |
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1. |
The engine was tilted 12 degrees to
its longitudinal axis. By doing this he was able to position the drive shaft
adjacent the driver's seat as opposed to under the car. In turn this meant
the frontal profile of the car was reduced and the centre of gravity was
lowered, resulting in a more aerodynamic design with better road holding. |
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2. |
The gear box was combined with the
differential and the multi-disc oil bath clutch. The entire unit was located
transversely in the car to improve the weight distribution over both axles. |
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3. |
Two external fuel tanks were fitted
between the front and rear wheels. This ensured again the weight of the fuel
(whether the tanks are empty of ful) was evenly distributed. This also
improved the aerodynamics of the car through continuity between front and
rear wheels. |
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4. |
The 90 degrees V8 engine worked as a
stress member in the metal tube chassis - the front suspension components
were directly anchored to the engine. The use of the engine as a load bearing
component of the chassis, was light
years ahead of its time and is even today still used in Formula One. |
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5. |
The 2.5 litre V8 engine had 4
overhead camshafts and twin ignition (new development!), developing (in its
latest configuration) 260bhp at 8200rpm. |
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The car had to retire in its first 2
outings (Spain & Argentina). In the 1955 Grand Prix of Turin, Alberto
Ascari scored his first home win. In the Grand Prix of Pau, the car managed a
2nd, 4th and 5th place. At the circuit of Posillipo, Ascari again won
outright with Villoresi ending 4th. |
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For the Monaco Gran Prix, Lancia
fielded 4 cars - Ascari, Villoresi, Castellotti and Chiron. After leading the
pack for 50 laps, Ascari slipped in a patch of oil and the D50 ended up in
the water. Castellotti took the lead but spun and had to be satisfied with
2nd place. The other cars finished 5th and 6th. |
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Unfortunately Lancia was not to build
on the success of the D50. Four days after the Monaco Grand Prix, Alberto
Ascari died while testing a Ferrari Sport at the Monza race track. Gianni
Lancia had gambled the companies funds on his F1 adventure - the debt loaded
team, having lost its main race ace, had to sell the remaining cars
to....Ferrari. |
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Although the D50 proved tremendously
successful, for Lancia it simply was the first sign the company paid more
attention to engineering masterpieces than ensuring the company's finances
were in balance. Ferrari happily took the winning cars and rebranded them as
Ferraris whilst introducing modifications. In 1956, Juan Miguel Fangio won
the Formula One World Championship in Jano's masterpiece....unfortunately for
Lancia for the wrong team! |
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FORMULA JUNIOR - LANCIA DAGRADA |
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In 1958, a new "Formula
Junior" class was introduced which became immensely popular. It resulted
in the development of many different concepts: constructors from America,
Italy, England, Germany and France used 1100cc engines from Fiats, Fords,
BMCs and Renaults and modified them to improve power. Angelo Dagrada of Milan
was one of those constructors and he produced some of the fastest cars. The
exact number of cars he produced is unknow but it is generally accepted he
built between 9 and 11 cars.
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Angelo Dagrada was born in 1912 and
made a living as a mechanic. After WWII, he built a number of race cars for
the popular Italian 750 and 1100cc races. Making a name for himself, Dagrada
modified the Fiat 1100-Siata head and combustion chambers, resulting in some
specatuclar wins. Unfortunately, a number of road accidents in the early
1950's meant he had to cease further race car development until his return to
racing in 1955, mainly with Alfas.
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A young
Giancarlo Baghetti - part of the Baghetti family who owned a foundry in Milan
- showed keen interest in becoming a race car driver. Baghetti came to an
agreement with Dagrada for him to secretly modify his father's Alfa 1900
sedan at night, when his father was not around. When his father collected the
Alfa the next day, he could not figure out why it was so much faster.
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Whilst Baghetti mainly drove Alfas
and Abarths on the local tracks, Dagrada was hoping to build a special car to
compete in the new Formula Junior. The usual set up for the cars in that
period - a tubular frame chassis combined with a Fiat 1100 front suspension
and a live axle at the rear - was simple, primitive, and not always
effective. While most other Italian Formula Junior constructors used the Fiat
engine, Dagrada decided to use the 1098cc Lancia Appia engine. The Appia unit
was a light weight, robust 10-degree V-4 cylinder cast-iron block with the
correct displacement, and was readily available. However, the design of the
intricate aluminum head prevented any attempt to make it a breather. Dagrada
virtually re-designed the head, creating new intake and exhaust ports,
resulting in a fire-breathing cross flow head with a Weber 38 DCO fitted to
each side of the block He subsequently tuned the exhausts, unevenly pulsating
through two megaphone exhaust pipes (although some used a combined system). These
modifications resulted in doubling the power from 48 bhp to nearly 100 bhp.
The whole set up was then covered with an aluminum body, similar in styling
to the 250F Maserati. |
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By
1960, the young Baghetti was keen to race in the new Formula Junior and
purchased a Dagrada from his old friend. He won the first time out on March
27th at Monza and placed himself well in three other races, winning the
Vigorelli Trophy races on April 25th. In the spring of 1961, Baghetti was
approached by Enzo Ferrari. The rest is history..... |
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So was the Dagrada, which, like so
many others, was made obsolete by the British rear-engine revolution. One of
the Dagradas, chassis number 009, was imported into the USA by Marty Biener
of Great Neck Long Island. The new owner drove it in a few races, and parked
it, eventually selling it in 1980 to Armand Giglio, an American Lancia
enthusiast. In 1988, Giglio persuaded the retired Baghetti to drive the car
at the Pittsburgh Vintage races. Despite a misfire, Baghetti finished in
front of the rest of the front-engined Juniors. "It's an old car,"
said Baghetti, "but I was very happy to race it again.
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Where are the cars now |
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