Lancia Flavia

Lancia Flavia at a glance

The Flavia and its successors are listed in the Lancia catalogue.

Fessia's front-drive Lancia

Lancia owner Carlo Pesenti needed a car between the small Appia and the big Flaminia. His technical director, Antonio Fessia, had already shown a front-drive saloon with a flat-four, the CEMSA Caproni F11, at the 1947 Paris Motor Show, but it never went into production. The Flavia gave him a second chance. It was named after the Roman Via Flavia, and the history of Lancia shows how often the company chose engineering over convention, from the load-bearing body of the Lancia Lambda onwards.

Fessia wanted about 62% of the weight over the driven front wheels. Engine, gearbox, differential, suspension and steering were carried on a subframe mounted to the body through elastic bushes, which isolated vibration and simplified assembly. The front suspension used unequal-length wishbones. Dunlop disc brakes were fitted at all four wheels with a dual hydraulic circuit, and the four-speed gearbox had synchromesh on every forward gear. The Flavia was the first front-drive Lancia, and every later Lancia until 2012 kept front-wheel drive.

Engines: from 1.5-litre boxer to fuel-injected 2000

The flat-four was cast in aluminium and was the first boxer engine in an Italian production car. The first saloon had 1,500 cc and 57 kW (78 PS) on a single carburettor, while the coupe, convertible and Sport used twin carburettors and 66 kW (90 PS). In 1963 a 1.8-litre with 68 kW (92 PS) joined the range, and in 1965 a Kugelfischer mechanical injection version gave 75 kW (102 PS). The 1,991 cc engine of 1969 produced 84 kW (114 PS) with a carburettor and 93 kW (126 PS) with injection.

Wikipedia IT gives slightly different ratings for some engines, such as 85 kW (115 PS) for the carburettor 2000, so figures vary between sources.

Saloons, Pininfarina coupes and the coachbuilt specials

The saloon body was styled in-house by Piero Castagnero. In May 1967 the Series 2 saloon (type 819) received a new body and interior, and a better-trimmed LX followed at the 1968 Turin show. In 1971, after Fiat had taken control, the Flavia name and the smaller engines were dropped and the remaining 2000 saloon and coupe were sold as the Lancia 2000, with Bosch electronic injection from late 1971.

Pininfarina designed and assembled the coupe on a shortened platform; the wheelbase was cut by 12 cm according to Secret Classics and 17 cm according to Wikipedia IT. It arrived in 1961 and became the best-selling two-door. A new coupe body appeared at Geneva in March 1969 with the 2.0 engine, and the coupe 2000 HF of 1971-1974 approached 200 km/h. Car and Driver tested an 1800 coupe in April 1964 at 169 km/h and 0-60 mph in 14.2 seconds.

Vignale built 1,601 convertibles to a design by Giovanni Michelotti: 724 with the 1500, 834 with the 1800 and 43 with injection. Zagato's Sport, drawn by Ercole Spada, was built in about 727 examples including three prototypes, and the Sport 1800 with injection reached 188 km/h. Lancia's next small car, the narrow-angle V4 Lancia Fulvia of 1963, carried the front-drive idea into the lower class.

Lancia Flavia today: what to check when buying

The Flavia was expensive when new. The Autocar test of 1967 listed the 1.8 saloon at GBP 1,909 in the UK, against GBP 1,498 for a BMW 1800 TI. Today it is one of the more affordable ways into a classic Lancia: The Classic Valuer's auction database, checked in November 2026, shows a median of about EUR 14,100 (GBP 12,249) for an average Flavia coupe across 50 sales.

Brian Long's 1997 technical notes on the Viva Lancia owners' site describe a very durable bottom end. The head can corrode if the coolant is not kept fresh with inhibitor, which leads to head gasket or plug leaks, so check for emulsion in the coolant and pale oil. The timing chain can jump if the engine turns backwards, for example when the car is pushed in reverse gear. Brake calipers corrode internally when the fluid is old and are best resleeved in stainless steel. Check the CV joint gaiters and listen for clicking on full lock, and measure the front ride height, because tired springs let the nose sag. Later 2000s used a five-speed gearbox described as notchy, and the Bosch injection can be hard to keep in tune. Rust should be checked on a lift, as on any steel-bodied Italian car of the 1960s. Parts are fairly easy to obtain from specialists such as Omicron in the UK. The coachbuilders' story continues in the history of Pininfarina, and more cars of the decade are in the classic cars section.