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Your 'thumb up' or comments are so appreciated. Thank you! The Lancia Aurelia is a car produced by Italian manufacturer Lancia from 1950 to the summer of 1958. It is noted for using the first production V6 engine. Several body styles were offered—4-door saloon, 2-door GT coupé (B20), 2-door spider/convertible (B24)—as well as a chassis to be custom bodied by external coachbuilders. Establishing a post-war Lancia tradition, the car was named after a Roman road: the Via Aurelia, leading from Rome to Pisa. The Aurelia was designed under the direction of engineer Vittorio Jano. Its engine, the first production V6 engine, a 60° design developed by Francesco de Virgilio—who was between 1943 and 1948 a Lancia engineer, and who worked under Jano. During production, capacity grew from 1.8 L to 2.5 L. Prototype engines used a bore and stroke of 68 mm x 72 mm for 1569 cc; these were tested between 1946 and 1948. It was an all-alloy pushrod design with a single camshaft between the cylinder banks. A hemispherical combustion chamber and in-line valves were used. A single Solex or Weber carburettor completed the engine. Some uprated 1991 cc models were fitted with twin carburettors. At the rear was an innovative combination transaxle with the gearbox, clutch, differential, and inboard-mounted drum brakes. The front suspension was a sliding pillar design, with rear semi-trailing arms replaced by a de Dion tube in the Fourth series. The Aurelia was also first car to be fitted with radial tires as standard equipment. B21 engine technical specifications Bore: . Stroke: . Capacity: 1991cc. Dry weight: 150 kg. Firing order: 1L-4R-3L-6R-5L-2R. Carburetors: Solex 30 AAI, 23 and 24mm venturis. Power: 75 Gross HP @4500RPM. The very first Aurelias were the B10 berlinas (sedans). They used a 1754 cc version of the V6 which produced 56 hp (42 kW). The B21 was released in 1951 with a larger 1991 cc 70 hp (52 kW) engine. A 2-door B20 GT coupé appeared that same year. It had a shorter wheelbase and a Ghia-designed, Pininfarina-built body. The same 1991 cc engine produced 75 hp (56 kW) in the B20. In all, 500 first series Aurelias were produced. The second series Aurelia coupé pushed power up to 80 hp (60 kW) from the 1991 cc V6 with a higher compression ratio and repositioned valves. Other changes included better brakes and minor styling tweaks, such as chromed bumpers instead of the aluminium ones used in the earlier car. A new dashboard featured two larger instrument gauges. The suspension was unchanged from the first series. A new B22 sedan was released in 1952 with dual Webers and a hotter camshaft for 90 hp (67 kW). The third series appeared in 1953 with a larger 2451 cc version of the engine. The rear of the car lost the tail fins of the earlier series. The fourth series introduced the new de Dion tube rear suspension. The engine was changed from white metal bearings to shell bearings. An open car, the B24 Spider, was introduced at this time (1954 to 1955) and was well received. It was similar to the B20 coupé mechanically, with an 8-inch (203 mm) shorter wheelbase than the coupé. The fourth series cars were the first Aurelias to be available in left-hand drive; fourth series Aurelias were the first ones to be imported to the US in any number. This model was immortalized by Dino Risi's 1962 movie Il Sorpasso (The Easy Life), starring Vittorio Gassman. The actual car used for shooting (a single model) was not destroyed during the accident scene sealing the end of the story: an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider was used as replacement.
