Despite what the average bar bore may insist, Lancia has always been an innovative company whose products were well ahead of the game. They were also intelligently designed and beautifully constructed to close tolerances using top-quality materials. In fact, it was these latter points that were more responsible for the company’s various financial problems over the years up to the late 1970s, rather than any suggestion of sub-standard materials or lack of dynamic abilities and was the very presence of these latter that Lancia road cars were chosen by the best racing drivers in the business as their everyday roadcars and this included, at random, Mike Hawthorn, Juan Manuel Fangio and Tazio Nuvolari. These first two clear recommendations for the marque came post-war though as until the early 1930s, Lancia had manufactured and built its reputation on an output of generally large touring cars.