The story of our Aurelia B24S

Larry berkin — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 07:09:16 GMT

My Father. Alex, bought this car in 1957 in France. He brought it to the US in 1962 and put it in the garage in 1965. We brought it out in 2005...

Chassis #: B24S-1264
Engine #: MOT B24 1390

Italy's idea of a fast touring motor car, the 115 mph, 2.5-liter Lancia Aurelia "provides rapid, effortless, and very secure travel for two and masses of luggage in a car which is responsive, stable and well braked." So pronounced "Motor Sport" when they road tested a Lancia Aurelia B20 GT in February 1956.

The Aurelia was designed by Gianni Lancia and Vittono Jano and first appeared in 1.8-liter form in 1951. The Gran Turismo Aurelia won the two-liter class in the 1951 Le Mans at 82.14 mph for 1,971 miles, came second in the Mille Miglia and dominated the Pescara Six Hour Race. The advanced, beautifully engineered Aurelia (its engine was the first production V6 in the world) was developed in subsequent years, the engine being enlarged to 2,451 cc as in this model.

The Aurelia pictured here is all original.. Original owner, original paint original motor and components.. It was last driven in 1965 and has been garaged since then. New tires, exhaust and other minor updates have brought this beauty back to life after 41 years of inactivity.

History of the Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible

Larry berkin — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:57:45 GMT

Aurelias sit historically in between two different models of production: the mass production model of Fiat and the hand-crafted, very small production efforts represented in Italy by Ferrari and Maserati. They take from both of these production models, but are in fact neither one. With some 18,200 Aurelias made from 1950 to 1958, the cars were far from one-offs. On the other hand, Lancia engaged hand production in many ways – both in assembly as well as in one-off specials. More importantly, Lancia allowed changes to come into the Aurelia model line over its lifespan – and while these changes were rational at some level and exceedingly well-documented, there were an extraordinarily high number of them.

Descriptions of the Aurelia model line have been published in Bernabo’s Aurelia GT book, in Italian, but also summarized on the web. (http://www.viva-lancia.com/aurelia/index.htm ). There are also full descriptions in both Nigel Trow’s book, “Viva Lancia”, and Wim Oude Weerninck’s excellent history, “La Lancia”. On the web, additional information can be found on the Viva Lancia site (http://www.viva-lancia.com/).

The history of Lancia is a series of vignettes on how to combine mass-production with hand assembly. From the Lambda in the 1920’s through to the Fulvia of the 1960’s , each Lancia model represents another take on how to make this happen. Aurelias, like all Lancias, have some attributes of older Lancia thinking combined with other forward-thinking aspects on how to improve their product with cutting-edge engineering. The evolution of the model range can be understood as that dynamic playing itself out.

Early Lancias (from the beginning of the company’s history in 1906) were always available to customization upon request. This was simply how the high-end market worked at the time: if you wanted something unique (bonnet scoop, leather interior, special trim), they would make it for you. The Aurelia continued this practice: the factory made the sedans, and provide a chassis to custom coach builders. This chassis, the B50, is shown on the earliest Aurelia publicity sheets and was available for one-off production.

Spiders and Convertibles

The B24 stands for the open two seater Aurelia. These cars came only in two types – the earlier dramatic B24 Spider of 1954-55 and the later more sophisticated B24 Convertible(1956-1958). The stunning Spider features a wrap-around windshield, split bumpers, side curtains and a difficult to use top. Lighter than the convertible, it is the more sporty of the two. However, it has a more awkward seating position, one befitting a prototype and not a series car. Both of these cars were fully designed by Pininfarina and assembled in their factory on top of Lancia-provided chassis. The Convertible is a more conventional car and less of a prototype. It is easily differentiated from the spider with its vent windows, roll up side windows, and a more conventional, less striking look, but with a more relaxed driving position, being somewhat more considered than the Spider. The Spider and Convertible cars follow the mechanics of the B20’s almost exactly. While on a shorter wheelbase, all the mechanics are identical to the same year’s B20: the B24 Spider is based on a 4th series B20, the B24 convertible on the 5th and 6th series B20’s. There are a few exceptions, of course: - the B24 Spider was also available with a detuned “America” engine, unique to this car only, provided with a special camshaft. - the convertible has some minor differences between the 5th and 6th series cars. Typically, the 5th series seats are similar to the Spiders’, fairly large and flat, with a small covered panel between them. The 6th series seats are more significantly like bucket seats, without any thing separating them. The gas tank of the early convertibles (5th and first 150 of the 6th) is just behind the seats like the spider. The later convertibles have it in the trunk.

The 1957 Lancia Aurelia B24s

The story of our Aurelia B24S

My Father. Alex, bought this car in 1957 in France. He brought it to the US in 1962 and put it in the garage in 1965. We brought it out in 2005...

History of the Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible