DE VIRGILIO at T H E C E N T E R
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LANCIA AND DE VIRGILIO AT THE CENTER Geoffrey Goldberg contents OVERLEAF This publication was made possible by the generous support Preface by Luigi De Virgilio vi Lancia's Aurelia at the of The Revs Institute for Automotive Research Inc., 1951 24 Hours of Le Preface by Miles C. Collier vii Mans. The practically a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to ix stock car finished first in enhancing people’s understanding of the automobile as one Foreword class and twelth overall. of the most significant creations of the 20th century. Sources x (Corrado Millanta, © Archivio Millanta) The author’s personal story xi Copyright © 2014 by David Bull Publishing and Geoffrey Goldberg. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Publisher except in the case of brief Beginnings 1 quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. To work 25 We recognize that some words, model names, and designations Aurelia 63 mentioned in this book are the property of the trademark Racing 97 holder. We use them only for identification purposes. Crisis 165 Library of Congress Control Number: 2014934274 Engineering 177 Changes 229 ISBN: 978 1 935007 25 8 Epilogue 261 David Bull Publishing, logo, and colophon are trademarks of David Bull Publishing, Inc. Appendices 275 Graphic design by Geoffrey Goldberg and Hal Kugeler. The V6 solution 277 Printed in China Performance 290 Archive Documents 300 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Usage of the V6 312 David Bull Publishing 4250 East Camelback Road Suite K150 Bibliography 314 Phoenix, AZ 85018 Photo credits 320 602-852-9500 Acknowledgments 321 602-852-9503 (fax) Index 322 www.bullpublishing.com Foreword My first sighting of the papers of Francesco De problem. His solution was a rare combination Virgilio was late one afternoon at the family apart- of analysis and practicality, and the world is still ment in Turin. De Virgilio’s son, Luigi, pulled out using it. binder after binder, opening each in the soft light, This book also explores De Virgilio’s personal unveiling notes and drawings from his father’s story, that of a young man from southern Italy many years of work at Lancia. These documents who went north for his graduate education, joined and records were part of the inner workings at a major company, and married into a prominent Lancia, unpublished information rarely seen. The industrial family. De Virgilio lived in both the paper was aged, but the story — rich and full of professional and the familial world of Lancia. details and thoughts — was fresh, vivid, and read The issue of his contribution remains of interest as if it could have been written yesterday. as we seek to understand the place of inventive- Lancia & Co. was an independently minded ness in industrial design. That he contributed automotive manufacturer deeply committed to in many different ways over his long career is high levels of engineering innovation and quality. without question. De Virgilio’s evolution and Their stunning postwar car, the Aurelia, was one his adaptability over his life with Lancia suggest of the most advanced cars of its time and became how creative individuals can change and adjust, an icon of 1950s automobiles, a high point of remaining active and fruitful in both good and Italy’s postwar design renaissance. Among its bad circumstances. many features, it had a unique and historically The broad view of this history entails the rich significant motor, designed by Francesco De context of postwar Italy and the rise of Italian Virgilio, a lead engineer at the company. With a design and engineering. This includes the special 36-year career there, De Virgilio was central to Italian application of an individual’s creative ener- many of Lancia’s groundbreaking products, so gies to larger-scale work, and De Virgilio was one his documents tell the story from inside. While who combined older, more basic, and empirical largely known for designing the first workable ways of manufacturing with newer analytical tools De Virgilio, 1939, in V6 engine, De Virgilio’s achievements extended and methods. Classically, these threads continue Turin, about to embark into other areas of automotive design, including today, as they resurface in different contexts and on his career. (De Virgilio Archive) suspension design, prototypes, truck engines, and in different ways. Yet the issue remains: What is competition. the role of innovation; how does one balance His solution for the V6 was not just one of theory and making? Where do ideas come from, organizing its design but required a fundamental and how are they implemented? And finally, engineering contribution in balancing theory to how much creativity comes from the individual’s what had previously been considered an insolvable personal story? ix Beginnings On the morning of August 2, 1947, two people were married in a OPPOSITE Francesco and Rita at the altar on Torinese church. The bride was Rita Lancia, a member of the Lancia their wedding day. (De Virgilio Archive) family, important makers of cars. The church was filled with many friends and her proud industrial family. The groom was Francesco De Virgilio, a 35-year-old engineer who had joined the family company eight years before. From the south of Italy, this bright young man was helping to lead the com- pany forward. Their marriage was to become a bond of loyalty — to one another, to both of their families, and to the company. xii 1 LEFT TO RIGHT Giovanni married Teresa Albertetti (also from countryside. Fobello provided a contrast to the Rita at age 20 with her mother, Fobello) in 1908, and they had eight children: bustling life of the industrial city of Turin; both Teresa (on the left), in Fobello in 1936. (De Virgilio Archive) Valerio, Claudio, Massimo, Ennio, Anna Maria were to remain central for Rita and her family (called Rita), Terenzio, Fausto, and Teresina. Of throughout her life. Rita outside her new home in Via Grassi in Turin in 1947, the the six boys, only Valerio was to marry. year she married. (Francesco Rita Lancia (1916–1964) was the eldest of Uncle Vincenzo and his family De Virgilio) Giovanni and Teresa’s two daughters. Born in Rita’s uncle, Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937), was a Fobello, she spent her youth and early school years much more lively man than his soft-spoken brother there. At age 12, Rita continued her education at Giovanni. He had an interest in manufacturing, an all-girls school in Turin. Surrounded by her was restless in school, and started work at a young six lively brothers, she was a more reflective and age for Giovanni Ceirano, an early bicycle maker thoughtful family member. Genuinely unpreten- whose premises were located in the courtyard of Rita in Fobello, in 1948. tious, she had inherited her father’s soft-spoken Vincenzo’s father’s house in Turin. The Ceirano (Francesco De Virgilio) disposition. Studious and well versed in English, company grew to become the foundation of a new French, and German, she had an ability to reach automotive company, FIAT, for whom Vincenzo out to others, looking at things from their differ- Lancia had a prominent early career as a race ent points of view. She was well respected for her driver. Competing in Europe and even America, common sense and was close with Teresina, her he was at one time the fastest driver in the world, younger sibling by nine years. racing FIAT’s highly successful competition cars. As a young adult, Rita lived in Turin, return- In 1906, Vincenzo started his own automo- ing to Fobello frequently to be with her family; tive business, Lancia & Co., as a manufacturer of she spent holidays there hiking and enjoying the fine automobiles and trucks. He was helped by a 10 Lancia and De Virgilio 1911–1947 Beginnings 11 since the end of World War I. He had management pivotal in preparing the designs needed to move experience, having represented the family when the company forward. Their formal relationship setting up a large manufacturing and assembly was well defined: Gianni was the young and plant for Lancia outside Paris, where, starting emerging head of the company; Jano was the very in 1931, Augustas (called Belnas in France) and experienced head of engineering; and De Virgilio then Aprilias (called Ardennes) were made for was the project engineer, the man in the trenches, the French market. In March 1941, Arturo joined working out new ideas under Jano’s supervision. Manlio Gracco de Lay and Pompeo Vaccarossi Informally, there was another order: Gianni in a senior management group, electing Adele was the inspiration, his energy driving the search Lancia as president.29 for new projects; Jano provided expertise to De Virgilio recalled that upon his return to keep the new work focused and assure it was Turin in the fall of 1943, the existing directors well integrated; and De Virgilio, the young (the heads of departments within the company) graduate engineer, brought theoretical basis to were let go with six months’ notice; even Fal- the work, as well as hands-on development to chetto — who had been there for more than 20 make sure the new ideas would work. The group years and had been instrumental in the Lambda built off each other’s strengths and canceled success — took a leave of absence, resigning on out each other’s weaknesses. Of course, others September 30, 1943, only to return to Lancia from within the company were brought in as 10 years later. Part of the plan to reorganize the needed, but these three were the central force in company was the goal to provide a single point of developing the new projects.