The Lancia Alfa 12 HP (Tipo 51 originally) was the first car made by Lancia. The car had originally project name "type 51" and was later renamed to

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as we ...

Alfa.

Description

The cars first road tests begun in September 1907 and production started in 1908.

Vincenzo Lancia Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia. Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabell ...

unveiled his first car in

Turin Motor Show The Turin Motor Show ( it, Salone dell'Automobile di Torino) was an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from 1 ...

in 1908 (January 18-February 2) . The car was equipped with

sidevalve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

straight-4 engine. The car had top speed of around with 2544 cc engine producing 28 hp and rotating around 1800 revolutions per minute. This model was sold over one hundred copies, car was also made for racing.

References

*Lancia by Michael Frostick, 1976. Alfa-12HP First car made by manufacturer Cars introduced in 1908 Brass Era vehicles {{-