With cars like the Mini, Citroën DS and Oldsmobile Toronado rolling around in the 1950s and 1960s, it is not surprising that Lancia, itself an innovative company, introduced its first front-wheel drive car, the Flavia, in 1961. With a horizontally opposed four cylinder engine and disc brakes on all four wheels, this was an advanced design for its time. The Flavia name has been resurrected for the modern day, in the form of a rebadged Chrysler 200 Convertible. It's rather unfortunate that some modern day Lancias are merely restyled Chryslers, as this glosses over the greatness that the Flavia name conveys with enthusiasts.

1971 Lancia Flavia 2000 Coupe

The first Italian front wheel drive car. Before the takeover by Fiat in 1969 Lancia’s always were technically sophisticated cars and the designers often had no eye for the commercial reality. The Flavia, which was introduced in 1960 was no exception to the rule. Italy’s first front wheel drive car was spacious, silent, comfortable, ugly, too expensive and was lacking performance because the designing engineer Antonio Fessia thought that fast cars were unsafe.

Because of the high prices Lancia had to ask for their technical masterpieces, sales actually were too low. Nevertheless Lancia added three additional versions to the Berlina. Every one of them designed and built by famous Italian designers. Pininfarina took care of the coupé, generally appreciated as the most beautiful Flavia. The Convertibile, with four seats, was created by Vignale and it looks more like the Berlina than the coupé. Zagato presented the very extraordinary Sport which had great aerodynamics.

His extravagant design however could not please everybody. Although the commercial success was poor (97,300 cars were made), the Flavia stayed in production for more than twelve years. The last two years the car was known as “2000”. It is also extraordinary that the car was manufactured for four more years after the takeover by Fiat. It can hardly have been profitable during that period.

During the twelve years the car was built, three series can be distinguished. Nowadays one would say that the car had undergone two facelifts, the first one in 1967. A new Berlina was introduced and production of the Convertibile and Sport ended. There were no changes to the coupé. In 1969 first the coupé had a facelift, followed by the Berlina in 1970.

This Flavia 2000 Coupé was first registered in 1971. The car is in a very goor condition. It looks stunning in this beautiful colour. It is very comfortable and it drives superbly! The Flavia 2000 Coupé now available at Montagna was first registered in 1971. The car is in a very good condition. It looks stunning in this beautiful colour. It is very comfortable and it drives superbly!

The seller's description is rather impressive, giving a good amount of history along with a little background on this particular car's life. While it could be mistaken for a later Beta model, these Flavias should not be confused with that model, as they were a significant were a huge step forward for Lancia. They were highly engineered cars and known for their durability. At about $17,000, this is a lot of classic Lancia for the money, considering it has covered under 50,000 miles.

-Paul