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27/06/2008 14:11. Despite the fact the Lancia nameplate continues to exist over one hundred years after it was established in Italy, this builder of fast, refined automobiles is relatively unknown outside sporting circles. Lancia cars competing over the past century have won everything from F1 races to World Rally Championships.

Vincenzo Lancia began working as a bookkeeper in an automobile factory, but by 1899 he had become a chief inspector at Fiat. After his prowess as a racer was discovered, he founded Lancia & Cie, Fabbrica Automobili, in 1906. The firm's first car was destroyed by fire, but Lancia persisted and soon was supplying the upper market with technologically innovative automobiles.

In the late 1940s, son Gianni Lancia and designer Vittorio Jano unveiled an all-new range of V6 Aurelia... // BusinessWeek