The D20 was Lancia’s first purpose-built race car, and the machine that marked Gianni Lancia’s bold push into motorsport. Unlike his father Vincenzo, who had focused solely on innovative and high-quality road cars, Gianni wanted to prove Lancia on the world’s toughest circuits and endurance races.
Its engine was an evolution of Aurelia's revolutionary narrow angleV6, which was the first of its kind in production cars. Enlarged to 3.0 liters, it delivered around 217 horsepower, while a special 2.7-liter supercharged version for Le Mans reached roughly 240 horsepower.
Built on a spaceframe chassis with Aurelia-derived suspension and a rear transaxle, and clothed in an aerodynamic Pininfarina Berlinetta body, the D20 was advanced, light, and well-balanced.
The car debuted brilliantly at the 1953 Giro di Sicilia, taking a 1–2 finish, and proved competitive at the Mille Miglia. At Le Mans, its pace was evident but reliability of the supercharged engine let it down.
While no original D20 has survived, a replica has been built by Roach Manufacturing Ltd:
Specs:
engine: V6 2693,32 cm³, 240 hp at 6.500 RPM
top speed: 230 km/h
dry weight: 815 kg
Sources:
Lancia D20 - Wikipedia
Lancia D20 @ Le Mans
I honestly think the Lancia D20 is one of the most beautiful race cars in history…..and least recognized. Here’s a couple photos I found in my computer from Le Mans.
iedeiblog.com
