Introduced in 1939, the Lancia Ardea featured a 903cc, V4 power plant with an alloy cylinder head and became the smallest production V4. In 1948, the third Series Ardea became the first mass produced motorcar to feature a five-speed gearbox. The unitary construction included a pillarless section between the doors.
Due to its small size, this allowed ease of access to the rear passenger compartment. Every Lancia Ardea was built in righthand drive; Lancia not manufacturing a production lefthand drive vehicle until 1955. Production of the Ardea ceased in 1953 with nearly 23,000 examples being produced.
This lovely third Series Lancia Ardea is presented in very good order having undergone restoration works in the past. The grey coachwork is particularly attractive and is complimented by the excellent West of England cloth interior whilst the interior still features the original rubber floor mats. The exterior alloy details such as the door handles, boot lock and various other trim items are all excellent although the alloy bumpers may be said to have seen some action!
To aid safety on today's roads, front and rear indicators have been added and mounted below the bumpers although the standard semaphore indicators located on the upper C-pillars both operate correctly. On the road, this little Lancia performed well maintaining a steady 50mph with ease.
The hydraulic clutch and gears all performing as they should, even the straight cut fifth gear being unexpectedly quiet. The hydraulic braking system, operating the drum brakes on each wheel, pulled the Area to a stop with confidence.
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