Lancia, 1928, Lambda VIII serie

Lancia "Lambda VIII serie", 1928

The Lambda is Vincenzo Lancia's masterpiece: the first mass-produced car with a monocoque chassis.

A futuristic car which quickened the research and thanks to its technical innovations, became the precursor of modern cars. Produced for 9 years, from February 1923 to September 1931, in 9 series for a total of about 13,000 examples, it marked, as a few other cars, the history of automobile: if the Ford T and the Volkswagen Beetle motorized the world, while the Austin Mini was the precursor of modern popular cars, the Lambda showed what the future looked like and paved the way for all the other car manufacturers in the world.

It seems that the revolutionary idea came from Vincenzo Lancia himself, who got inspired by the building process of boats. The concept of a separate chassis, with the body fitted onto it, was antiquated (even if it will defintely disappear only in the 1950s).

Another feature of the car, as much revolutionary, was the telescopic front suspension with independent wheels and hydraulic shock absorbers, a design of the ingenious designer Falchetto.

The car shown in the museum was rediscovered in Liberia. On the left side you can see an unusual luminous front arrow, while on the right side an original adjustable headlight with a mirror on the rear. The radiator cap has a water temperature gauge and the dump registration plate hides the old-fashioned handcrank.

Curiosity

Giacomo Puccini, the famous italian composer, asked to Vincenzo Lancia to build him a car for ardous terrains. He became the owner of the first off-road vehicle. Puccini travelled on Lancia Lambda like the one displayed in the museum to reach Pisa Railway Station.