21/03/2022
A good day! Thrilled and honoured to have an invitation to the 79th Members Meeting with the 1933 Lancia Dilambda 232 racing in the Varzi Trophy, a Franco-Italian spectacular of Grand Prix, Voiturette racers and specials between 1928 and 1935. The Lancia will be joining greats including a Bugatti Type 51 which won the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix driven by Achille Varzi himself.
In the Italian colony of Eritrea, North Africa, this one-off Dilambda was created and raced in period. The Eritrean capital, Asmara, was mainly populated by Italians at this time, with a big street racing and hill climb scene. One of the most well known races was the Coppa di Natale, the Christmas Day Race 1938 with many Alfa Romeo teams attending. A number of racing drivers settled in Asmara including Ermenegildo Strazza, a Lancia and Mille Miglia racer and friend of Vincenzo Lancia. Interestingly with the help of the factory he was running race prototypes mixing chassis and engines, in a constant search for a winning edge. Strazza set up a dealership in Asmara and may have some part to play in the history of this car.
A quick web search of “Dilambda” brings up an enormous and luxurious saloon built for the US market. It illustrates just how much has been changed on this car and close studies of the work shows how skilfully it was done. The structural fuel tank has been narrowed, a good metre length has been removed from the chassis. The bodywork has been hand crafted in steel, hammer marks remain clearly visible on the inside of the rear clamshell. Lancia’s innovative independent sliding pillar front suspension and trick narrow angle and semi-inline 4 litre V8 remain. Not just your “regular” Dilambda V8 as a Lancia collector has confirmed it revs with much more gusto than standard. A boon of the “post vintage” era are 4 speed semi-synchromesh gearbox, which in this car sits proudly at your feet and large hydraulic drumbrakes at each wheel which do come in handy!
Created for the rugged street races and hill climbs of Africa, it will be a pleasure to show the car to the GRRC membership. The car will be in the capable hands of historic specialists . 🙏🇮🇹
