The Lancia Flavia was developed by Professor Fessia in the late 1950s, and introduced for sale in 1961. Initially available only as a four door saloon, it featured a 1.5 L aluminium boxer engine. This model was soon joined by a two door coupé, designed by Pininfarina on a shortened platform. Vignale built a two door convertible, while Zagato designed an outlandish-looking light weight two door sport version. The sport version has twin carburetors for extra power (just over 100 hp/75 kW), however this version of the engine was notoriously difficult to keep in tune.

Later development of the engine included an enlargement to 1.8 L, a mechanical injection version using the Kugelfischer system, and a five speed manual gearbox. Towards the end of the sixties, when Fiat took control of the company, the Vignale and Zagato versions were discontinued, and the coupé and saloon versions received new bodywork. The engine increased to 2.0 L in capacity, available with carburetor or injection, and four or five speed gearbox. These were built around 1972 although brand new models remained in stock until about 1975.

Build and ride quality were superb, and the durability of these cars are excellent considering the relatively modest performance specifications. The meticulous engineering makes maintenance of these oldies simple, although it can be quite expensive due to the scarcity of parts.

Engines:

• 1961-1966 1.5 L (1488 cc) Lancia H4
• 1963-1966 1.8 L (1800 cc) Lancia H4
• 1967-1974 2.0 L (1991 cc) Lancia H4