Retrospective: Ten things you should know about Lancia

But the young Vicenzo, born in 1881, wasn't academic and hung around the mechanics on his dad's estate. He made a show of appeasing his father by getting work as a book-keeper, but it was for a bicycle company that was getting into car design.

Needless to say, the books got neglected.

Lancia tested cars and raced for Fiat

The bicycle-maker's first prototype car was bought by Fiat, and Vincenzo went with it.

The car was reborn as the Fiat 3.5hp and Vincenzo, still only 18, became a Fiat test driver. He must have been good, because he went on to race for Fiat in grands prix.

But it wasn't enough. His dream was to set up a car company, and he did just that. He turned his back on racing and set out to create superior road cars. In 1906, Lancia was born.

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