One of the most gifted automobile engineers of all time, Vincenzo Lancia founded his own company in 1906, having previously been in FIAT's employ as chief test driver.

Introduced in 1907, the first Lancia car showed an independence of thought and defiance of convention that would remain associated with the marque well into the modern era.

Military vehicles, lorries, vans and aero engines followed, the latter enabling Lancia to accrue valuable expertise in the design and construction of vee-configuration engines.

Lancia's first vee-engined model - the V8 Trikappa sports car - appeared in 1922 but it was the Lambda, launched soon after, that would prove to be of even greater significance.

A milestone in automotive history, the revolutionary Lambda was the world's first car to have a stress-bearing body and the first to be powered by a V4 engine.

The absence of a separate chassis meant the driver could sit lower, enabling a low aerodynamic body line to be achieved, while Lancia's pa...