LANCIA AURELIA 1950 - 2020 TIMELESS MYTH - Mauto

MAUTO – Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino

                   LANCIA AURELIA 1950 – 2020
                             TIMELESS MYTH
                          January 30, 2020 - May 3, 2020
MAUTO – Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino dedicates a
retrospective exhibition to the fabulous Lancia Aurelia, one of the most
advanced and refined cars of the Italian postwar production and a symbol of
the extraordinary economic growth of Italy of those years. The exhibition
will be open to the public from January 30 to May 3, 2020.
Turin, January 30, 2020. MAUTO – Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino
opens the exhibition LANCIA AURELIA 1950 – 2020. TIMELESS MYTH, an
extraordinary exhibition divided into two sections that tells, through 18
exceptional standard and custom-built specimens, the evolution of this model,
which was first presented in Turin in 1950.
The Lancia Aurelia became popular all over the world as an expression of pure
elegance, based on an ideal of polished simplicity, right from its first appearance,
thanks to the successful creative and design partnership with Battista Pinin Farina.
It was so successful as to be also featured in famous movies like "Il sorpasso”
starring Vittorio Gassman and “Et Dieu créa la femme” starring Brigitte Bardot,
which turned it into a worldwide icon of style.
On the other hand, its technological contents, the result of technical collaborations
with talented designers like Vittorio Jano and Francesco De Virgilio, imposed the
Lancia brand as synonym with performance and sports cars and had legions of
passionate collectors fall in love with the Aurelia. Just to name a few: the first 6V
engine (which Ferrari engineers took inspiration from when designing the Dino
1500 cc); the aluminum die-cast engine block; the independent wheel rear
suspension system; the rear position of the gear-change/engine to balance the car

weight; the rear breaks in the same block as the engine in order to reduce the
weight of suspended masses, which enhanced the grip. Lancia was also helped by
the valuable collaboration of highly specialized suppliers. They included Nardi,
whose two and six carburetors induction manifolds enhanced the performance of
Aurelia engines, improving its power, acceleration and speed, and whose elegant
steering wheels consecrated the Italian style, and Pirelli, which launched, smack
on time in 1951, the Cinturato, an innovative belted radial tire, which provided the
whole Aurelia range with better driving precision and grip.
A "city" car, whose sports lines accommodate the engine and mechanical features
that make it a top-performing car also in races. In fact, the Aurelia was
extraordinarily successful also in some of the main races of that time: Mille Miglia,
Targa Florio, Giro di Sicilia, 24 Ore di Le Mans, Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, and
many others.
Cherished by Hemingway and Fausto Coppi, praised by Juan Manuel Fangio, who
likened it to a "cup of maté" - the infusion that gives men from the Andes strength
and self-confidence - the Lancia Aurelia is rightly considered "a magic moment in
car evolution"(Massimo Fila Robattino, curator of the exhibition).
“Timeless myth," says Benedetto Camerana, the Chairman of MAUTO, "celebrates
the 70 years of the Lancia Aurelia, in its diverse and attractive versions: a bright
symbol of the history of Italy, which summarizes the renewed trust in the future after
the tragic wartime events and the industrial revival, which combined the Turinese
ingenuity in mechanical engineering and design and the best suppliers, symbols of
Italian quality. These are the ingredients of a car that became popular all over the
world as an icon of beauty, technique, pleasure of living. The evidence of this are
international awards, celebrity customers in the past and collectors today, movie
productions and even comics. A product that joins Vittorio Jano and Brigitte Bardot
defines ideally the universal value of the car. So, Mauto adds an important chapter
to its constant work of investigation and representation of the role played by the car
in the history of the 20th century."

THE EXHIBITION TRAIL
"Telling the story of the Lancia Aurelia”, says Massimo Fila Robattino, the curator
of the exhibition “means reporting the great desire for redemption that animated
Italy in the postwar hardship, which resulted in a car that would have been
impossible to make just a few years earlier and that, even in those years, when the
economy had still to prove that it was capable to start again, was a bold challenge."
The exhibition starts with a 1948 Lancia Aprilia Bilux Pinin Farina, of which
some aspects anticipate the stylistic features that will characterize the Aurelia to
come. So, the B10, the first Lancia Aurelia, which was presented on a lawn in the

1950 edition of the Turin Car Show in obedience to the will of Adele Lancia, the
chairman of the company back then, is displayed on a green panel.
There follows a range of continuously evolving models, which always amazed the
public, although people were already used to the top quality offered by the Turin-
based car manufacturer. The B10 is followed by the B12, whose body and
mechanical parts were reviewed, resulting in a substantial increase in the
horsepower compared to the previous model, and the adoption of a semi-
independent wheel rear suspension system.
The sports elegance of the B24 version of the Aurelia, which allowed it to be city
car and a powerful racing car at the same time, conquered also the cinema
industry. Scenes taken from the movies that made the B24S Convertible and the
B24S Spider famous are projected behind two specimens of these cars.
The 1957 Florida II, which belonged to Pinin Farina and was lent to Mauto by
Pininfarina, close the evolution cycle of the Aurelia.
The second section of the exhibition includes unique cars. The B52 made by
Bertone for the 1952 edition of the Turin car show; the B53 by Carrozzeria Balbo,
the first model designed by Francesco Scaglione; the B53 “Giardinetta” by Viotti;
two B50 Pinin Farina, one of which was made as a one-off version property of
Princess Furtin Von Bismark. Finally, a B20 GT with the original colors used in the
1953 Mille Miglia, together with six more Gran Turismo units (from series 1 to
series 6), a model that achieved great results, like ranking second in the 1951 Mille
Miglia with Giovanni Bracco behind its wheel. This section also includes some of
the most prestigious trophies conquered by the Lancia Aurelia, footage of the cars
during races, and portraits of some “gentlemen drivers”.
The narration of the exhibition dedicated to LANCIA AURELIA is based on the
catalog edited by Massimo Fila Robattino, the curator of the exhibition, with the
contribution of journalist Giosuè Boetto Cohen, which will be on sale at the Mauto
bookshop.
The exhibition LANCIA AURELIA 1950-2020: TIMELESS MYTH has been
organized with the support of Aubay, the European leader in business consulting
and information & communication technology, and long-standing Lancia suppliers
Nardi and Pirelli, two top Italian manufacturers, which are outstanding players in
car history.

Pirelli participates in this event and confirms its commitment to the world of
vintage cars: some of the Aurelias exhibited here are equipped with the Cinturato
CA67, like the cars manufactured in the assembly line in Borgo San Paolo. These
tires currently belong to the Pirelli Collezione range: the philosophy behind these
products is offering collectors the right tires for the most fascinating cars, like the

Lancia Aurelias, maintaining the driving features and the look of that time, yet
using new materials and modern manufacturing techniques.
We thank also Bontà Classic Garage, a mechanical workshop partner of the
museum, which restored the mechanical parts of the LANCIA AURELIA B20S,
Series 6 belonging to the MAUTO collection and on display in the exhibition.

With the support of:

Special thanks to:

Enrico Barlaam, Piero Cerini, Federico Foglia, Francesco Gandolfi, Marco
Gastaldi, Carla Gritti, Morlacchi Emilio, Lacchio Luigi, Lavizzari Edilberto,
Mandelli Nicolò, Minerbi Galeazzo, Pecori Giraldi, Lucas Huni
For lending the cars

Giosuè Boetto Cohen
For the video footage

Giuseppe Bottini, Giovanni De Virgilio, Luigi De Virgilio, Francesco Gandolfi,
Gabriele Scotto, Vito Veninata, Antonio Viotto
For historic documentation

MAUTO at Automotoretrò and Retromobile
    • A MAUTO stand (Stand B6, Pavilion 2) dedicated to the history of the Lancia
      Aurelia will be at Automotoretrò (Torino, Lingotto Fiere) from January 30,
      2020 to February 2, 2020. The public will be able to see a 1950 Lancia
      Aurelia B10, the new Lancia sedan presented in the Turin Car Show in the
      spring of 1950: its style is modern, its shapes are streamlined and typically
      Turin-inspired simplicity, which, however, shows some sports attitude.

    • MAUTO will participate in Retromobile (Paris, Paris Expo Porte de
      Versailles) from February 5, 2020 to February 9, 2020. It will be hosted by
      Lancia Club France (stand B097, Pavilion 2), which will display a
      wonderful B24 Convertibile.

Special cards will be distributed at the MAUTO stands, as long as both events last:
they will be valid for purchasing the ticket to the show at the reduced price of
€10.

LANCIA AURELIA 1950 – 2020: TIMELESS MYTH
MAUTO, Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino Corso Unità d’Italia, 40 - Torino
January 30, 2020 - May 3, 2020
Opening hours: Monday 10 AM - 2 PM
Tuesday through Sunday 10 AM - 7 PM
Last entrance one hour before the closing time
Admission with museum ticket
Full-price ticket: 12 €
Reduced-price ticket: 10 €
Schools: 2,50 €
Children 6 to 18 years of age accompanied by an adult: 5 €
Free admission for children less than 6 years of age and owners of the Torino+Piemonte Card and
the Abbonamento Musei Torino Piemonte.
For all information
www.museoauto.com
______________________
For additional information
Mailander - Relazioni Digitali by Mailander
Communication and press office for MAUTO - Museo Nazionale Automobile Torino
Pietro Martinetti p.martinetti@mailander.it T. 011 5527305 M. +39 340 3712520
Emanuele Franzoso e.franzoso@mailander.it T. 011 5527337 M. +39 340 5831070
MAUTO
Communication manager and press office Responsabile Comunicazione e Ufficio Stampa
Lorenza Macciò
Tel. 011 677666 - l.maccio@museoauto.it