A-Z Of Marques: Lancia

The marque: Italian treasure, recently buried, exhumation in progress.

The marque: Italian treasure, recently buried, exhumation in progress.

The history: Vincenzo Lancia made his first car in 1907. In 1922 he devised the first car (the Lambda) to use the body as the structure.

Grander artefacts emerged all with right-hand drive. In the 1930s Lancia tried smaller cars -- the Aprilia, followed by the Ardea. The Aurelia in 1950spawned the B20 GT favoured by racing drivers.

Flaminia and Appia followed. Next came the Flavia and Fulvia, but it was now the 1960s and Lancia's expensive designs were causing financial ruin. Enter Fiat, which rushed through the Beta, the Gamma and the Stratos. The Delta spawned the rally-winning Integrale and the big Thema saloon, but the Y10 supermini and Dedra flopped in the UK and Lancia pulled out in 1993. It's still in Europe as Fiat's chic brand.

Defining model: Aurelia B20, the first modern GT.

They say: You don't want a flash Alfa Romeo.

We say: Bring back right-hand drive.