Lancia Ardea

The Lancia Ardea is a small family car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Lancia between 1939 and 1953, with an unusually short bonnet that reportedly held the smallest V4 engine ever commercialized in a small family car. Nearly 23,000 were standard saloons, about 500 were lengthened as taxis for Rome between 1940 and 1942, and after the war more than 8,500 light van and pick-up versions were built by the factory. Four series were made, and the third series from 1948 was the first mass-produced car with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The fourth series of 1949 gained a new aluminium cylinder head and 30 bhp. The name comes either from the town of Ardea in Lazio or from the Roman road Via Ardeatina.