In the setting of the Palazzo del Quirinale, the Lancia brand celebrates its 115 years of history and the 60 years of the Lancia Flaminia Presidenziale. The Lancia brand was in fact founded in Turin on November 27, 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and Claudio Fogolin, both Fiat employees and car enthusiasts. «Tomorrow will be a special day for our brand and for our country and this double celebration fills us with pride – says Luca Napolitano, CEO of Lancia -. The Presidency of the Republic has allowed us to combine the 115 years of the brand with the 60 years of the Presidential Flaminia, offering us the backdrop of the Quirinale Palace. By leveraging this glorious history, we are ready to face our 10-year plan towards ever more sustainable mobility ».
Lancia Flaminia Presidential
The Lancia Flaminia made its debut in 1957 at the Geneva Motor Show: high-class flagship, equipped with a 2.5-liter V6 engine, luxurious interiors and finishes.
The Lancia Flaminia was soon enriched with special versions, made by body builders and, in 1961, Pinin Farina created the presidential long-wheelbase convertible, called “335”, an abbreviation that indicated the measurement of the wheelbase in centimeters. The car was used for the first time by President Giovanni Gronchi on the occasion of the visit to Italy of Queen Elizabeth II of England. In a few months, four specimens were made which, continuing the tradition, were baptized with proper names of thoroughbred horses from the Quirinale stables: Belfiore, Belmonte, Belvedere and Belsito.
Belfiore, Belmonte and Belvedere were characterized by the cabriolet body with a rigid, foldable canvas roof, while the last, the Belsito, is equipped with a non-opening canvas roof above the driver’s seat.
Painted in the characteristic midnight blue, all models feature black Connolly leather upholstery, intercom to communicate with the driver, 5 rear seats with large sofa and two folding seats.
Used in the past on the occasion of the visits of important heads of state such as John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Charles De Gaulle and for the celebrations of the Centenary of the Unification of Italy, they were subjected to a careful restoration in 2001 and currently two of the specimens are entrusted to the Stables del Quirinale: Belfiore and Belvedere are in fact the cars for the “great occasions” of the Head of State and the highest offices of the Republic. The Belsito, on the other hand, can be viewed at the historical museum of the Military Motorization in Rome, while the Belmonte has been exhibited since 2001 at the Turin Automobile Museum.
