The Unsung Italian Genius Behind The First V6 Engine
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ม.ค. 2023
- V6 engines are so ubiquitous that few people realize they are a relatively recent invention, for which we have to thank an Italian engineer working in a war-torn country.
V6 engines were uncharted territory until as late as the 1940s: not only did they not exist in production, but they weren't even mentioned in the period's technical literature. That's when the engineer Francesco De Virgilio, in force at Lancia's technical department under Vittorio Jano since 1939, began his painstaking research into the optimal configuration for a V6 engine in terms of V angle and crankshaft design. #v6engine #history #lancia #classiccars
My articles on Medium: / membership
My automotive books:
Lancia Gamma Berlina & Coupé 1976 - 1984
ENGLISH: www.amazon.com/dp/B09TN45L8Q
ITALIAN: www.amazon.it/dp/B09YVJRKH6
Six Appeal - The Story Of The Alfa 6
www.amazon.com/dp/1793931046
Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 - La Storia 1979-1987 (ITALIAN)
www.amazon.it/dp/B0BHT3PCC7
Alfa Romeo Giulietta - The Story 1977 - 1985
ENGLISH: www.amazon.com/dp/1983393746
ITALIAN: www.amazon.it/dp/B098GVJ7RK
Alfa Romeo Arna - The Full Story 1980 - 1987 www.amazon.com/dp/1656632500 - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
![มองหน้ากันไม่ติด (Awkward) - โอ๊ต ปราโมทย์ FEAT. MAIYARAP [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4b02SY_r6Gw/mqdefault.jpg)
Francesco De Virgilio and Lancia created the V6, then Giuseppe Busso and Alfa Romeo made the greatest V6 of all time.
how not to agree with you!
It's not true: Delahaye came first!
@@marcob4630 sì, Lancia è stata la prima casa a introdurre il V6 nella produzione commerciale
@@studiocalder818 : Non basta un'affermazione senza prove. I miei dati dicono che furono i francesi (!) seguiti a ruota dagli americani e poi dall'unica Lancia a V6. Il patriottismo italico qui è del tutto assurdo!
@@marcob4630 Forse non sono stato chiaro:
si, risulta anche a me che Delahaye sperimentò il V6 per prima, ma anche che venne poi commercializzato in serie da Lancia
I’ll never understand why the Aurelia Spider is rarely mentioned when people talk about the most beautiful designs of all time. It’s stunning from every angle.
It is indeed. I don’t know, Lancia as a whole seems not to be on most enthusiasts’ radar, despite its glorious history
@@Matteo_Licata So true. When you look at their design and engineering they really are special, at least until Fiat took them over.
I was aware that Lancia had the first V6, but didn't know about all the background. Great video, thank you so much. Ciao 🙋♂️
My pleasure, glad you liked it!
Another fascinating bit of motoring history. Thank you, Matteo.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
But it's wrong: The French Delahaye came first!
A great video as always, and it is nice to see online content for one of the most gifted and underrated engineers of the post-war period. Di Virgilio specifically developed algorythms (he was, in essence, a mathematician) to try and reduce the harsh NVH levels of the period engines, a development similar to that of David Bache of Jaguar at the same time. To further improve smoothness and handling, the gearbox was designed as a transaxle and moved at the back, gaining close to perfect weight distribution fore and aft. Also, since Lancia was at the forefront of innovation and in-house construction, the Aurelia was the first car equipped with Pirelli's radial tyres for even better road holding and comfort. The stunning design was mated with the best assembly quality of the period, rivalling (and sometimes even surpassing) established luxury brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and Bentley.
Many think that Lancia's recent rebirth promises will spark a new interest in the famed brand, and maybe a return to form. Alas, FCA's (or is it Stellantis?) fanfare have so far yielded mediocre results and subpar products, at least in the luxury segments. Sometimes, it's better to leave things well enough alone.
Many thanks Matteo!
Glad you enjoyed the video! I'm looking forward to seeing how far Stellantis' revival effort for Lancia will go. The marque's heritage is second to none, but most people no longer remember nor care: even here on my channel Lancia-themed videos tend to get significantly fewer views than Alfa ones.
Great video and info as always.. Keep the great work my friend !!
Thanks, will do! :)
Virgilio was a master engineer, just look how the central camshaft elegantly also drives the fuel pump!Very sorry he was exiled to the truck division, must have been a blow to a beautiful mind. Every time I see an Aprilia, Flaminia or Aurilia I am stunned by their beauty! Just compare the elegant Aprilia to the relatively blunt Mercedes 170 of the same Era! PS: I think the Flaminia was Sergio Peninfarina favorite car,which is a confirmation of its timeless beauty.
Hai ragione
Would have loved to have seen what could have become of the Lancia V6 with planned OHC conversion had the latter been approved for what became the Gamma.
In fact, one of the reasons for the lack of success of the Range can be attributed to the lack of appeal of the 4-cylinder
Year 1951-aluminum engine.
I always thought that French and Italian automotive engineering created all the main automobile inventions we now have.
The two automotive engineering traditions that are almost always skipped by many people.
Very interesting that the first production V6 didn’t arrive in its most simple form having a 120 degrees angle between the cylinder banks. It already had the 60 degrees offset in the crank pins coupled with the 60 degrees V angle, a feature which was retained by the Busso for decades.
A 120° was one of many V6 configurations designed by De Virgilio during his research work, but I guess its width would have made it impossible to package in the cars Lancia was developing at the time.
Sometimes creative juices are on full throttle when environment, budget, etc are not optimal.
Maybe someone can do an in depth vid about Ettore Zaccone Mina, another Lancia genius with a long career spanning from draftsman in the the aluminium foundry to race engine designer? The Fulvia engine was just one of his masterpieces.
That's an excellent idea, indeed. I'll see if I can gather enough solid research to make a video
@@Matteo_Licata You may start with the excellent book on De Virgilio and Lancia by Geoff Goldberg.
Interesting story, thx🎉
*_What happened with Lancia after 1995 is an absolute tragedy._* 😟😞
It is indeed, yes. Hopefully the upcoming new Lancias will give the brand some new life
@@Matteo_Licata*_Fully Electrical Line-up with no Clause with Stellantis to go Racing even in Formula E. The Humiliation with Lancia Continues just because they dared to seat on top of the Racing World for a breaf moment..._* 😟😞
Another great video.
Thank you!
Thank you Matteo
Lancia run by technicians masterpieces.
1:07 min. Wow! Did that prototype vibrate so badly that it folded up the oil dipstick in this way?! :-)
Another excellent video. I confess I am not a lover of the V6 (even the Busso). I know that an admirer of Italian cars ought to be.... But with few exceptions, I am not. However, the Aurelia (all versions) has been a dream for me since I read the Tintin adventure "L'Affaire Tournesol" as a child. If you do not know the book, it is worth getting to know. And Hergé, a good technical artist and a gadget freak, clearly admired the Aurelia.
Many years ago, before relocating to West London, The Design Museum had a Tintin exhibition, and the centrepiece was a B20 coupé.
And in a strange twist of fate, parked outside the museum was the first Delta Integrale I'd ever seen... Not HF turbo... actual Integrale. They were initially VERY rare in the UK.
Another good video about an interesting engine that they put on a sublime car. Many thanks. Bravo!
Cool! Thank you for sharing this memory with me, and yes, I’m familiar with Tintin’s comics, of course! Hergè sure knew his cars, and I appreciated that he took the trouble of carefully representing actual existing cars in his stories
De Virgilio also helped another ex-Lancia engineer (in this moment I don't remember his name) to create the first V10 for the Alfa Romeo; when you say a genius.
Yes indeed, De Virgilio worked on Alfa's V10 engine, the one that ended up in the 164 Procar.
Lancia was an innovator right from the start, back as far as the early 1900's, the Lancia Lambda together with its unitary body had a V format engine, a V4. Lancia used V format right up to the last, the Fulvia. Mateo, over to you for the TH-cam video!
Thank you! By the way, I did a video about the Lambda too: Why The Lambda Is The Most Important Lancia Of All
th-cam.com/video/T0Bd136Mvvc/w-d-xo.html
I am not a purist, however cars will never again be this pure in their imperfection, and so honest in their appearance. While being technically superior cars today lack everything else. They are much easier to live with, but made to be interesting to dull people that do not like cars. 🙂
It is perhaps inevitable that technical variety decreases as an industry matures. Lancia managed to go near bankrupt twice in 20 years, so that’s not the best example of an efficient, well-run automaker either 😆
Molto interessante!
Bene, sono contento!
No idea if any other marques planned a V6 around the same period as the Aurelia apart from maybe Rover, which began work on a number of V6 projects from 1936 with a 90-degree design up to as late as what eventually became the Rover P6 project with a few 2-litre to 3-litre V6s that IIRC had IOE and OHC designs (also heard of a few 60-degree engines).
I didn't know of any other automaker working on a V6 before Lancia, thank you for letting me know about Rover, I had no idea
It was mentioned in a number of James Taylor books on Rover, from Rovers of the 1930s up to the P4, P5 and P6 IIRC.
@@Matteo_Licata : Delahaye, Facel Vega, Renault Alpine, Talbot, etc.
Matteo, very interesting points.
I know little of the competition successes of the Aurelia (Part 2 to come?) although I realised that a certain Juan-Manuel use the car as his "daily" (to use the correct YT jargon).
It would also be good to see a part 3, with more details on the mechanical side of the V6. What was the role of Jano compared to de Virgilio / why was Ferrari gifted the D50 ?
The points you’ve raised all make for interesting stories and videos, thank you! I’m going to cover them over time, even though my experience so far tells me fewer people watch Lancia-themed videos
What can i say..u are absolutely rite ..😘😘 Variable Timing ..60s Sedan with 4 wheel disc brakes..5 speed gearboxes Twin Camshafts..Double Twinchoke Webers....Even The British and American Ford Cars Still Making 4 Speed gearbox and leaf spring suspension till the mid 80s still ..🤣🤣😂
Great point, Rauf
that aurelia is heart stoppingly beautiful. ❤❤😍😍
Indeed :)
An off-topic question: At 2:45...what model is that white 80's looking car in the background?
That’s a Gamma Coupè… One of my favorite Lancias. So much so, that I wrote an entire book about it :)
www.amazon.com/dp/B09TN45L8Q
@@Matteo_Licata Which I will be reading as soon as Amazon delivers my copy 😁 It really caught my eye...gotta find out more about it!
💚🤍❤️
And now Lancia is dead...so sad.
Don't count it out just yet. Stellantis is going to launch new Lancias soon, we'll see how they'll be received by the market.
@@Matteo_Licata I am from the UK and well you know the details but Lancia was once something !
@@malcolmhardwick4258
Right, unfortunately their production cost too much to produce enough income
Well, near dead, but not entirely. The by far most sold car in Italy in 2022 was a Lancia - admittedly the last one so far. A position, that Lancia certainly never had in the glorious past.
Ma non stati i francesi inventare il sei cilindri? Che poi fu adottato in massa negli USA
Non confondere il V6 con il 6 in linea, attenzione! Questo video si riferisce al V6
@@Matteo_Licata Technically Delahay seems to have been first in 1911 with a 30 degree V6 but Lancia was first with serial production.
@@Matteo_Licata : La francese Delahaye fu la prima già nel 1911, come è qui riportato da "trevizese". E non era affatto un motore in linea. Vero che poi la Lancia lo lanciò come prodotto di serie più o meno in contemporanea con gli americani! Ma dire che fu l'Italia "ad aver inventato il motore V6" è VERAMENTE sbagliato! C'è anche qualche marchio minore come la Rover in Inghilterra che ebbe il suo motore V6 ben prima della Lancia. Pure la moto Harley-Davidson fu la prima, anche se solo col suo bicilindrico a V, già ad inizio '900.
Perciò: il motore a V (poco importano i cilindri) è vecchio come il cucco: nacque quasi subito dopo il classico primo motore in linea e soprattutto per risparmiare spazio. La Lancia non ha nemmeno alcun brevetto registrato sulla sua asserita "invenzione" del motore V6!