16 Jul, 2017
Aus unserem Archiv: Im Jahr 2013 stellte Bruce Lindsay aus Australien lancianews eine Reihe von Artikeln zur Verfügung, in welchen er korrespondierend zu seinem Buch „70 Years of Trailblazing“ aus dem Jahr 2009 herausragende Modelle der Marke Lancia von den 1930er bis in die 1970er-Jahre umfassend beschreibt und bewertet. Wir werden nun in unregelmäßigen Abständen diese Berichte wieder bringen.
Dritter Beitrag über sehr spezielle Flaminias
Avid eBay watchers may have noticed – perhaps as recently as 2010 – a Dutch vendor offering what he described as “3-litre” Flaminia engine and cylinder block, which he claimed were installed in berlinas built specially for the Italian Carabinieri.
While the works certainly built 11 Speciale versions for police pursuit use, available evidence suggests they were fitted with 2.5-litre engines uprated by Nardi, whose headquarters were within walking distance of the Lancia HQ. The stock Flaminia berlina, with the 813.00 engine, produced 102 bhp with its downdraught Solex 35PAAI carburettor, while the 823.10 engine of the Speciale managed 140 bhp from the same capacity. Modifications included radical valve-timing and triple Weber DCNL carburettors, anticipating their use on the 3C Flaminias in 2.5- and 2.8-litre forms from late 1961.
Martin Cliffe from Omicron Engineering in the UK, when quizzed about the possibility of there being Flaminias of 3-litres, calculated that opening out the 2.5 to 3.0 litres would be physically impossible, since there is simply not enough metal in the cylinder block to allow for bores and water jackets. It is probably for this reason that, when Fessia finally accepted that the early cars needed more grunt, the furthest he could expand the capacity was to 2.775 cc.
Thanks to Graham O’Connor and an original Nardi-marked photo from the Lambda Motors collection, we can see that the installation was markedly different to the factory’s 3C set-up.
I have been unable to locate a photograph of a Flaminia in Carabinieri livery, but contemporary reports tell that they were painted the usual dull khaki colour all over, and were fitted with blue warning lights on the roof centre. Otherwise the cars’ specification appears to have been stock, including their gear ratios and final drive. However thanks largely to the altered valve timing, the engines revved to 5.600 rpm instead of the standard car’s 4.800 rpm, which would have given a useful increase in maximum speed as well as more spirited acceleration.
But a 3-litre Flaminia? Highly unlikely.
Bruce Lindsay / 12.2013
