1929 Lancia Lambda 8th Series Short-Chassis Torpedo Factory Mille Miglia Specification

With its monocoque body, four-wheel brakes, independent front suspension and V4 overhead camshaft engine many enthusiasts view the Lancia Lambda as one of the greatest automobiles of all time. With a conventional pedal layout and H-pattern gear selection the Lambda also set the automotive template for years to come. 

The Lambda was also successful in competition with privately entered cars finishing fourth and fifth behind the works OMs in the first Mille Miglia of 1927.

The Lambda was continually developed through nine series of cars with the 8th and 9th series receiving a larger 2,570cc engine and four-speed gearbox.

A copy of the Centro Storica Fiat heritage certificate states chassis 20757 is an 8th series example completed on the 4th April 1929 with a Tipo 223 (short) factory torpedo body. The car was built by Lancia to Mille Miglia specification when new equipped with a B2 gearbox (as fitted to the official Lancia factory Mille Miglia entered cars), lightweight wings and no running boards. 

An original UK continuation ‘buff’ logbook on file confirms the car was registered PO 114 on the 2nd May 1929 and that by 1948 had engine number 8600 installed, which was one of the first 8th series Mille Miglia works engines. The car is believed to have been the Lancia works demonstrator.

The Lambda was imported into the UK in 1929 alongside a factory Mille Miglia Lambda and both cars were displayed for sale at the new Lancia works showroom at Alperton, London. 

The car’s first was owner was Ronnie Symondson, an engineer and flight instructor at Brooklands and also a prominent Bugatti enthusiast and future Bugatti Owners Club president. Symondson famously owned and campaigned the ex-Embiricos Bugatti Type 57S.

The Lambda then passed to a young man who joined the RAF reserves in the late 1930s and was killed in 1940. The family of the unfortunate young man kept the car in his memory for a further three years before selling to Geoffrey Robson as an experienced owner and the family deemed him a good custodian.

In 1991 the Lambda was registered to a Mrs. Alison Bolton of Lymington before being acquired by British Lancia enthusiast John Millham in October 2000. Milham rebuilt the sliding pillar suspension in 2003, refurbished the water pump in 2004 and replaced the front springs in 2006. 

In 2010 the correct specification 8th Series engine was fully rebuilt by Cotterell Engineering Ltd. and included white metalling to the conrods and main bearings, crankshaft crack test and regrind, cylinder block rebore and light reskim, new pistons and rings and new valve springs.

New clutch thrust bearings were fitted in 2015 and a pair of stub axles in 2018. In 2019 the gearbox was rebuilt with new 1st and 3rd gears. 

Later in 2019 the car was sent to Lancia specialists and restorers Thornley Kelham where the propshaft coupling was replaced.

The rear crossmember is the original and shows the chassis number and body number 10778 which is also correctly stamped to each boot hinge.

Today, Lancia Lambdas enjoy a thriving community of owners and are an entry ticket into some of the most prestigious events around the world. 

Chassis 20757 was built by the factory to Mille Miglia specification and is consequently an important, rare and desirable Lambda and eligible for the Mille Miglia retrospective.