About Lancia Alpha
It was in 1906, on the 27th of November, when the two friends founded the Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili. Vicenzo Lancia, a former chief inspector at Fiat and Claudio Fogolin, a former Fiat employee started with the first Lancia vehicle ever produced, the Lancia “Tipo 51”, or “12 HP”.
The 12HP in the model’s name referred to the fiscal horsepower.
The vehicle was later renamed Alfa, following Lancia’s tradition to name the cars after the letter of the Greek Alphabet.
While the road tests began in 1907, the classic car was unveiled in 1908 at the Turin Motor Show.
The Lancia Alfa was driven by a 2544 cc sidevalve 4-straight engine that produced 28 hp at 1800 rpm, mated with a 4-speed manual transmission. Quite impressive for the time, the car managed to achieve a top speed of around 90 kilometers per hour, mostly thanks to its reduced weight of only 700 kg.
The Lancia Alfa was available as a torpedo or a saloon body style. However, the bare chassis version sent to different coach builders gave the possibility of offering other body styles such as a luxury coupe, a double-phaeton, a limousine and even a racing version.
The model was known for its build quality and reliability and stayed in production until 1909 when it was replaced by the Italian’s brand new model, the Lancia Beta/ Lancia Type 54.