1927 Lancia Lambda Spider 7a serie tipo corto

It is the unanimous opinion of automotive historians that the Lambda was Vincenzo Lancia's first masterpiece thanks to its numerous innovations. These included a monocoque chassis, independent front suspension and hydraulic dampers. Thanks to the designer Battista Giuseppe Falchetto, the ingenious ideas of Vincenzo Lancia were translated into a concrete project. Displayed at the Paris Auto Salon in November 1922, the Lancia Lambda was instantly recognized as a new approach to cars. The narrow-angle aluminum Lancia V4 engine was also notable. All three displacements shared the same long 120 mm stroke, and all were SOHC designs with a single camshaft serving both banks of cylinders. First engine had 13° V angle, second 14° and 3rd 13° 40'. The engine, an overhead-camshaft unit of 2,120cc, was progressively enlarged, arriving at its final 2,569 cc, 68bhp configuration in 1928. The first Lambdas had three-speed gearboxes, a four-speed was developed in 1925. The design of the Lambda engine, under the general oversight of Battista Falchetto, was in the hands of a small group. In charge was Primitivo Rocco, responsible for all of Lancia’s engine designs, Augusto Cantarini and Quarello, the third member of the group.
Lambda sporting career was restricted by the manufacturer's determination to make it a touring car, choosing displacements that sat awkwardly with the classes recognised by the AIACR. A series of special Lambda "Corsa" versions was prepared for the Coppa delle 1000 Miglia In 1927, the Strazza-Varallo crew driving one to 4th overall ahead of another one driven by Pugno-Beggia. For the following edition, five Lambda “Tipo 223" torpedo-bodied versions and three special short-chassis spiders bodied by Casaro were prepared, all fitted with a special cylinder head developed by Romagnoni & Pirotta and offered as an option on the production cars. The model's commercial history can be summarized in the around 13,000 examples produced in nine series between 1922 and 1931.

This Lancia Lambda (chassis 15725 – construction No. 5763) is a 7th series, short wheel base chassis (Tipo 218) with a rare torpedo body of a 6th series Lambda built on it by Carrozzeria Casaro of Turin. It was completed the 27th of august 1926 and tested the 1st of September 1926. Original engine (Tipo 78) No. 5811, original gearbox No. 2710, original differential gear No.5616. The documents’ history of this car starts in 1955. As can be seen from the original Registration Book, in this year the engine was already replaced with a 8th series one (Tipo 79) no. 10113. The original color was red, changed in dark blue after a restoration made in 1957. The car now have a proper 7th series engine (Tipo 78) no. 5749.