Description
With its monocoque body, four-wheel brakes, independent front suspension and V4 overhead camshaft engine many enthusiasts view the Lancia Lambda as one of the greatest automobiles of all time. With a conventional pedal layout and H-pattern gear selection the Lambda also set the automotive template for years to come.
The Lambda was also successful in competition with privately entered cars finishing fourth and fifth behind the works OMs in the first Mille Miglia of 1927.
The Lambda was continually developed through nine series of cars with the 8th and 9th Series receiving a larger 2570cc engine and four-speed gearbox.
Chassis 22066 is an 8th Series with the standard Tipo 223 (short) factory torpedo body built at the Lancia factory in Turin. The build sheet states the car was approved and tested on the 14th December 1929.
The Lambda was first registered on the 1st January 1930 to its first owner, a Dr. Von Salis of Zollikofen, Switzerland. The current owner managed to contact Dr. Von Salis’s daughter who confirmed the car’s original colour was green.
In 1937 the Lambda was sold to Zurich lawyer Rene Niederer, founder of legal firm Niederer Kraft and Frey. Niederer’s son Claus related a fascinating story that in 1940 his father had acquired secret information that the Nazis were about to invade Holland where his then girlfriend (and future wife) resided. He then drove to Holland in the Lambda to bring her and her belongings back to neutral Switzerland despite being stopped on several occasions by Nazi officials.
Around 1953 the Lambda was exchanged in payment to a tradesman who repainted the home of the newlywed Niederers. The car then passed through several more Swiss owners until it was acquired in 1954 by young enthusiasts Heinrich Diener and Kurt Schwilch who kept a diary of their adventures with the Lambda until they sold it in 1957 to a Gunter of Hombrechtikon.
In 1970 the Lambda was discovered by Otto Fisch of Aadorf, Switzerland who undertook a sympathetic restoration around 1990 and included the retention of the original body panel build numbers and original components. The exterior was repainted in Verde Cascine - an Italian green colour by paint manufacturer Max Meyer. The car was also fitted with a rare Rene Thomas steering wheel.
The interior was retrimmed in Italy and a replacement engine of the correct type was fitted built by Lambda specialist Vincenzo Dozza of Kusnacht near Zurich. Dozza also fitted a rare and special Romagnoni and Pirotta cylinder head - a period competition modification used in various contemporary events including Mille Miglia. The original gearbox and rear axle were retained.
In 1992 the Lambda was sold to noted Swiss collector Robert Temperli. During his ownership the car was displayed at 1993 The Louis Vuitton Automobile Classiques in Paris and took part in the first Klausen Rennen Hill Climb also in 1993. As a technical official of the Vintage Car Club of Switzerland, Temperli was able to obtain copies of the complete Swiss registration history of the car which are on file.
British enthusiast Bernard Parris was introduced to Temperli and acquired the Lambda in 2006 and imported it into the UK. Parris later sold it to the previous owner, an engineer who was drawn to the car due to its Romagnoni and Pirotta cylinder head.
During his tenure he maintained the car as required and recently rebuilt the cylinder head. He also discovered a period photograph of the car complete with Fergat wheel discs which he then painstakingly recreated from an original drawing and resolved the challenge of fixing them to the Rudge Whitworth hubs.
Parris then travelled over 12, 000 miles in the Lambda, including several European trips with multiple mountain passes crossed and made more relaxing by the car’s fitted electric overdrive system.
The Lambda is accompanied by a history file which features correspondence with relatives of the early owners and copies of Swiss registration documents which document the car’s ownership history as well as copies of period photographs of the car, FIVA card, VSCC Eligibility documents and Swiss Veteran Motor Club Certificate. Also included is the numbered engine that was in the car prior to the current unit being fitted.
Today, Lancia Lambdas enjoy a thriving community of owners and are an entry ticket into some of the most prestigious events around the world. Since its restoration this uniquely specified example has been well maintained, is on the button and ready to be enjoyed once more.
