The Lancia company was established in Torino in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and Claudio Fogolin .  They had both been employed by the Welleyes company that was one of the pioneers of the Italian automobile industry and were bought out by the consortium which became FIAT. Vincenzo became a successful racing driver for FIAT and was able to start designing and building his own cars. The Lancias soon became popular and the company moved from strength to strength with several innovative improvements such as electrical lighting and starting. In 1920 the revolutionary Lambda was developed, using front suspension with coil springs inside telescopic tubes (sliding pillars). This allowed an oil bath to lubricate the spring and prevented the ingress of dust which in those days (pre-tarmacadam) would penetrate the leaves of traditional springs and cause wear and breakage. Lambdas have a rigid frame with a transmission tunnel - a forerunner of the later "monocoque" construction. The Augusta was introduced in 1932 and has a full monocoque bodyshell. A V4 engine of 1200cc powered this small four-seater quickly enough for Tazio Nuvolari to choose one as his road-car. Lancia also produced commercial vehicles and around 1936 founded a lorry and bus manufacturing facility at Bolzano in northern Italy. Many well respected lorries were produced until virtually all Italian commercial vehicle production was amalgamated into Iveco.

1937 saw the Aprilia announced - full of innovation. Yet another V4 engine in an aerodynamic body which like the Augusta surprised many with its turn of speed and road-handling. The Aprilia was one of the first production cars to have concealed door hinges. That may not sound like a revolutionary feature compared to earlier Lancia advances like overhead camshafts but when you consider that external hinges are open to the weather and dust you will realise that "concealed" hinges would have dramatically reduced problems with wear, thereby reducing maintenance and generally making the car easier to live with. Perhaps more up-front was the ability to adjust suspension dampers from the drivers seat - again the usefulness of this has to be considered in relation to the road surfaces of the time where towns had good roads but the trunk roads were far from smooth.

Alongside these landmark cars Lancia always manufactured a good range of automobiles in all sectors and that continues to the present day with the executive class Thesis and the compact Ypsilon.

Vincenzo Lancia was a successful racing driver for FIAT and was able to found his own company on the winnings. However he avoided his own company being involved in competitions because of the great demand on finance and resources. Vincenzo died in 1937 (aged 56) just after the Aprilia started production and was succeeded later by his son Gianni.   Racing interested Gianni and after the Second World War, a sporting version of the Aurelia was produced and used to compete in races. The car was developed in to a sophisticated racing car and led ultimately to a uniquely developed Grand Prix car. The Lancia D50 was introduced into a Grand Prix season that was dominated by the Mercedes W154, but was a match for it. Alberto Ascari was signed-up by Lancia to lead their venture but his death (driving a Ferrari) deflated the effort and the team was disbanded. The D50 cars were taken over by Ferrari and used to win the the World Championship the following year. The collapse of the GP effort coincided (perhaps related) with financial difficulties and Gianni Lancia disappeared from the scene and the Lancia Company was purchased by industrialist Carlo Pesenti. With fresh capital investment more great cars followed the Aurelia that was the highlight of the Gianni years. The Pesenti era ended in 1969 when Lancia again hit difficulties after considerable newly investment. This time FIAT came to the rescue. With new management there was an opportunity for a re-start and a new designed car became known as the Beta in a revival of Vincenzo's tradition of naming the cars from the Greek alphabet. The subsequent Gamma revived earlier thinking in several respects. The Delta began as a humble small family sedan but developed from its sound basis into a dominant competition car that continued the demonstration of Lancia know-how that the D50 had started and had been followed by the Fulvia, Stratos and Rally.