One of the most advanced cars of the 1930s, the Aprilia is now an underrated classic
WORDS MALCOLM MCKAY PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MANN
The last car conceived by Vincenzo Lancia, the Aprilia was designed by Battista Falchetto, who also helped style the Lambda, and was one of the first road cars to be wind-tunnel tested. The shape was exceptionally smooth, with the boot blended into the bodyshell.
The Aprilia was of integrated monocoque construction, with four pillarless doors. It boasted a light, compact, narrow-angle V4 engine with hemispherical combustion chambers, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes – inboard at the rear – with finned aluminium drums. A 9ft wheelbase within a 13ft-long car meant that it had a wheel at each corner and, with sophisticated independent suspension, the Aprilia feels incredibly modern for its age. Even Vincenzo himself, the ultimate critic, spontaneously declared after his first drive in the prototype: “What a magnificent car!”
A platform chassis with a 4in-longer wheelbase was produced for coachbuilt bodies, which made up 30% of Aprilia sales: early on, Trasformabile cabriolets were series-built by Stabilimenti Farina, and post-war versions had leaf-sprung live rear axles. Lancia still preferred right-hand-drive, regardless of the market: no left-hand-drive Aprilias are known.
First-series Aprilias were imported to the UK by Lancia Works of Alperton without trim or even bumpers to minimise import duties; many were upholstered in leather instead of the standard cloth. The Aprilia was not sold in post-war Britain and most in the UK now have been imported, including ʻourʼ car, which arrived 10 years ago from Australia.
The Lusso (luxury) version differed in many details, with running boards, and square, geometric instruments including a clock, thermometer and fuel gauge. The larger engine for the second-series Aprilia required complete re-engineering, because a narrow-vee engineʼs angle is dependent on the bore, stroke and conrod length. At 1352cc, the vee angle was just over 19°; for 1486cc it was 17°.
Both the quality engineering and attention to detail in the Aprilia are delightful: rubber strips on the bumpers were another pioneering feature. Rust and the difficulty in finding some parts are the biggest enemies today – service items are widely available, but an incomplete car can be a challenge to restore.
