Vincenzo Lancia

Vincenzo Lancia (1881 to 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and the founder of the Lancia car company. Born at Fobello near Turin, he was expected to become a bookkeeper but was drawn to machinery, apprenticed with the Turin bicycle importer Giovanni Battista Ceirano and by 1900 was chief inspector and test driver at Fiat. His fast driving earned him a place in Fiat's racing team, and he won the Gold Cup at Milan in 1906 in a Fiat 28-40 HP. He built his first car, the 12 hp Alfa, in 1907 and went on to produce influential models including the Lambda and the Aprilia. In 1930 he joined Giovanni Battista Farina in co-founding the coachbuilder Carrozzeria Pinin Farina. He died of a heart attack in February 1937, shortly before the Aprilia reached full production, and his widow Adele and son Gianni continued to run the company until its sale in 1955.