Wto, 20.02.2007, 13:00
For decades Lancia had been producing trucks as well as cars. The first was a small truck produced in 1911 on the chassis of the Eta car. But the first true commercial vehicle, the 1Z light truck, appeared the following year. The engine was a powerful 70 bhp, 5-litre, 4-cylinder unit.
The army successfully used a number of these trucks in the Libyan war, on the hard African tracks.
The truck gave rise to the Theta, a deluxe vehicle, at the time considered one of the best cars in the world, and this says a lot about the quality of Lancia trucks. Extensively used during the First World War from 1915-18, the Z was joined shortly prior to and during the war by the ‘Jota’ and ‘Djota’ models.
Peace returned and with it brought difficulties for Italian manufacturers. Military orders had dried up and heavy road transport was of only marginal importance in civilian life, where demand was met by the so-called ‘war leftovers’ that the army sold to civilians.
Vincenzo Lancia, however, was still convinced that commercial vehicles had a future, and in 1921 the ‘Trjota’ and ‘Tetrajota’ models left the company workshops in via Monginevro.
These chassis structures were used by specialist carriage-builders to produce trucks, tourist coaches and buses. Powered by the tried and tested four-cylinder engine also used on the ‘Kappa’ and ‘Dikappa’, these two chassis structures were so efficient and successful that the orders poured in, even from abroad.
Meanwhile, in Italy, the importance of heavy road transport was growing, prompted by the improving road network. More manageable trucks with bigger capacities were now needed.
So, in 1924, Lancia brought out a new truck that was to become famous – the ‘Pentajota’. It had a wheelbase lengthened to 4.31 metres, a working area of 7.77 square metres, and a capacity of 5300 kg, and can be considered one of the first true giants of the road.
Goods transport needs were matched by the need to transport people. On request by the Milan city council, which wanted to create urban buses with large seating capacities, Lancia developed the ‘Esajota’ chassis.
With a stroke of intuitive genius for future demand, Lancia’s engineers fitted it with curved long members that allowed the height of the floor to be lowered. Unfortunately, the vehicle was penalised by an under-strength engine, which had remained unchanged since the war - the same engine used on the ‘Eptajota’ truck in 1927.
1927 saw the launch of a project for a completely new chassis with extremely modern characteristics, designed to be equipped for use as a bus for urban and suburban services: the ‘Omicron’.
M Powered by a 7060 cc, 91.5 bhp, 6-cylinder in-line engine, the ‘Omicron’ had overhead valves directly controlled by two drive shafts, a rear bridge with load-bearing axle and a lowered flat platform.
Created in two versions (short and long), the ‘Omicron’ was a great success. Many of the vehicles adopted by the Rome transport company remain in service, to the delight of both company and customers alike, and some have chalked up astronomical mileages: over two million kilometres. Curiously, the sleeping truck version of the ‘Omicron’ even served on the route across the Sahara desert between Algeria and French Sudan.
Lancia went on to produce a diesel engine for this model, a 7000 cc, 93 bhp, 5-cylinder unit, to offer an alternative to the huge petrol engine that despite the resilience and strength of the "Omicron", made it uneconomical to run.
In the Thirties, Lancia bought from the German firm Junkers the licence to produce another diesel engine, a two-stroke, two-cylinder unit, with two opposed pistons per cylinder, which was fitted on the new ‘Ro’ truck. This model, of which four versions were produced (two for civilian use and two for military use), was joined in 1935 by the ‘Ro-Ro’ and in 1938 by the ‘3Ro’ with a 5-cylinder diesel engine.
Lancia truck production continued with the Esatau, and ended in 1969 with production of the Esagamma.
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