1962 Lancia Appia

The Lancia Appia Berlina Series III was made from 1959 to 1963 and was a four-door four-seater, rear-wheel-drive, front-engine saloon. It was the final incarnation - and the most commercially successful - of the Appia family.

Lancia launched the Series III Appia at the 1959 Geneva Motor Show and the car could be immediately distinguished from its predecessor by its Flaminia-style radiator grille. Under the bonnet the engine boasted a higher compression ratio and there were smaller 14-inch wheels with an upgraded all-drum braking system. The third-generation Appia was also to the last pillarless small saloon made by Lancia, although its doors could now be made from steel as well as aluminium. The car also marked the final Lancia to employ the renowned sliding-pillar front suspension. At the rear was a live axle with leaf springs and hydraulic dampers at the rear and the steering was by worm and sector. The top speed was 82 mph.

As with the Series II, the Lancia Appia Series III was also available in platform chassis-only form as the basis for some truly exquisite coupes and cabriolets (q.v.).

In early 1963 the Appia Series III was replaced by the very different FWD Lancia Fulvia.

The Lancia Appia Series III was powered by a 1,090 cc V4 OHV engine with a four-speed manual transmission. There was no synchromesh on the bottom gear.

More than its predecessors, the Lancia Appia Series III caught the mood of an Italy that was now entering the era of il miracolo economico and 55,577 examples were built, the majority of them in LHD form. It may be best regarded as the sum total of the Appia saloon line-up – and that is a considerable achievement indeed.

The Appia Series III was never going to be a common sight outside of Italy – in the USA it cost more than a Buick LeSabre and in Britain it was more expensive than a Rover P4. Today the main limiting factor to ownership is corrosion of the steel doors – check the bottoms in addition to the usual Appia weak points, especially the wings in the region of the A- and C-pillars, the sills, and the floor.

The Lancia Appia Series II's main competitors in Italy were the E-series Fiat 1200 Granluce and the second-generation Alfa Romeo Giulietta. In the UK, the nearest equivalent was arguably the Riley One Point Five.