Lancia, 1911, Beta 20 HP SGV

Lancia “Beta 20 HP", SGV, 1911

The Lancia Beta, also known as the Lancia 15/20 HP is the third passenger car model produced by the fledgling car manufacturer Lancia. This car was born in 1911, when one of the most fascinating periods in history, the Belle Epoque, was coming to an end. Three years later, in fact, the world war broke out, sweeping away dreams, illusions, wealth, art, and millions of lives. A Beta built on the long B-type chassis, it was sold in America as a bare chassis, this was an established practice at the time and also allowed lower customs duties to be paid. Overseas it was fitted with a runabout body (an American term corresponding to our spider) built by Carrozzeria SGV (from the initials of the three partners: Herberet M.Sternbergh, Robert E.Graham and Fred Van Tine). Among the most striking features of the model are the dual accelerator (pedal and hand throttle on the steering wheel) and the large 100-litre fuel tank at the rear. At a time when petrol stations were still rare and petrol was bought in jerry cans from the grocery store, it was necessary to have a considerable travel range, in fact on the left side you can see a brass ‘hose’ that could hold an additional supply of petrol. Attentive to innovations and customer needs, as early as 1909 Vincenzo Lancia fitted his cars with a complete spare wheel and not just a tyre as was the practice in Italy at the time. Also worth noting on this car are the the large acetylene headlights and the mechanical speed-measuring on the right front wheel, probably made in America. A beautiful removable clock stands out on the dashboard, which bears the inscription ‘Automobile’ on the inside; thanks to this detail, the owner could take the clock with him whenever he left the vehicle, thus avoiding theft. Luciano Nicolis said: ‘The watch, historically, is an innate accompaniment to cars. It was the most precise mechanical object of the time and it was said that an efficient car had to walk as precisely as a watch. A beautiful car, therefore, had a prestigious watch".

Quirk - A Lancia Beta won third place at the 1909 Targa Florio and another is known to have run the Brooklands Circuit at 106.22 km/h in Great Britain in the same year.

Lancia - founded on 27 November 1906 in Turin by Vincenzo Lancia is one of Italy's oldest automobile manufacturers. It was established as a general partnership of Vincenzo Lancia and Claudio Fogolin under the name Lancia & C. The two had met at Fiat where they collaborated, Fogolin retiring in 1918. Vincenzo Lancia was already known for his sporting prowess behind the wheel of Fiat cars. Famous for his significant his contribution to that day's and age's and the evolution of the car: his was the world's first patent for the Lancia Lambda's load-bearing body structure, replacing the spar frame typical of the carriages and cars built to the time. His second masterpiece was the Lancia Aprilia. The company distinguished itself in general by building prestige vehicles to the point of becoming a symbol of our country as a presidential representative car. In 1958 it was bought by Carlo Pesenti (Italcementi) who sold it to Fiat in 1969. Even today, Lancia is still one of the most prized marques among collectors worldwide.

Luciano Nicolis used to say: “This is an SGV, with Lancia frame and American body. This oddity is probably due to the custom duties of the time, very high for cars. In this way, it was possible to save money. At the time buying the chassis and engine from a car company was a common thing at the time, the nit was shipped abroad and put together there to pay fewer custom duties (see the history of Italian custom duties). The body fitted in America followed the styling of the time. The body was indeed quite modern and many cars were fitted with similar ones (see the Peking to Paris) …. Since it was a sports car that had to travel for many miles, it had a spare can. It already had the spare wheel with the rim attached, not just the tire as many others. There were two additional oil headlamps in the absence of acetylene. Acetylene headlamps were more powerful and were made with cut glass, so that the glass didn’t crack under the effect of heat. The 4-cylinder engine was quite large and was made in a single block, not twin block”.

Technical notes:

FRAME and ENGINE from Lancia. The body was fitted in the US by SGV, acronym made with first letters of the three partners’ last names: Herberet M.Sternbergh, Robert E.Graham e Fred Van Tine.
RACING BODY similar to the Itala used at the Peking to Paris.
HAND ACCELERATOR on the spoke of the steering wheel, alternative to the pedal.
LICENSE PLATE: in the early 1900s license plates for vehicles were exquisite handmade objects, fully enameled, with a white background and two red numbers that represented the province and other black numbers that represented the license number given to the automobile (there were 69 provinces). The number “12” of this car was assigned to Brescia. From the second half of the 20s, the province letters replaced the red numbers, the background became black and the numbers white.
FUEL TANK with a capacity of 100 liters. A very important characteristic because in the early years of the 20th century gas stations were not that common (gasoline could be bought at the general store, where it was sold in cans).
On the left side there is a spare brass JERRY CAN for gas.
FULL SPARE TIRE, with attached rim to change tire more quickly and easily. In Italy they still gave the spare tire only. The beaded edge tires of the time had the tendency to slip out the rim during corners.
MECHANICAL SPEEDOMETER on the front right wheel.
ACETYLENE TANK, on the right side. Filled before leaving, the car had also a CARBIDE GAS tank to lighten up the lamps.
The SEATS were made of leather, still original underneath.
Long STEERING COLUMN, common at the time.
OIL POSITION LAMPS similar to the ones found on carriages, located near the seats; the BEACONS are made of glass so that they could be seen from the back too. The big front CARBIDE HEADLAMPS with cut glass so the heat does not crack them. The lamp on the dashboard is detachable.
On the dashboard there’s a beautiful detachable CLOCK bearing the writing “Automobile”; thanks to this, the owner could take the clock with him after leaving the car. The clock-car combination is historical. It was the most precise mechanical object of the time and they said an efficient car had to ride like a fine watch. Therefore, a good car had a prestigious clock.
The STEERING WHEEL and levers are covered in hard rubber.

NOTE: the manual reads: “Before starting the engine, put some oil in the specific oiler with faucet between flywheel and engine. In this way the oil pump starts to run and the oil pressure gauge works”. “The engine starts after half a crank turn” - “The gearbox has four speeds plus reverse gear”

Number plates - at the beginning of the 20th century even the vehicle number plates were fine craftsmanship, entirely enamelled, they had a white background with two numbers in red representing the province and in black the number of the licence attributed to the car (there were 69 provinces). The number ‘12’ on this car then corresponded to Brescia. From the second half of the 1920s, the initials of the province were adopted in Italy instead of the two red numbers, the background was black and the numbers white.

Shooting, L'Uomo VOGUE with Luciano Nicolis
Shooting, Calze Levante, Lancia Beta SGV
2004 Luciano Nicolis participated with this car to the "Settimana Motoristica Bresciana", watch the Video  at min 03:10
2009 Montecarlo - Monaco Classic Week
2010 Settimana Motoristica Bresciana
2011 Settima Motoristica Bresciana
2016 the car won the 1° Prize in “Veteran aperta” category at the Concorso di Eleganza "Città di Mantova",
2016 the car participated to ASI, 50° anniversario
2013 the car participated to Operauto, Arena di Verona Event
2018 Poste Italiane chose this car for a philatelic postcard.
2020 Event, ASI, Historic Day
2024 The REB Concours