THE FIRST GT ????

[STRADALE]

Hi All

was Alfa Romeo the first to use the name Gran Turismo ?

[Barry Edmunds]

Glen

Can't suggest which model first acquired the GT tag but Alfa are probably a good contender to claim bragging rights.

Don't wish to be pedantic but the models you mentioned are actually 6C not C6.

[GTV-074]

I seem to remember having read somewhere that the Lancia Aurelia 'GT' ........ was the first production car to use that moniker.

Without researching the car, I am thinking somewhere around 1953-54......

It was a sweet as car (you will find it mentioned in a lot of lists of the 'best cars') V6 floor shift running through a transaxle (like the Alfetta).

By all reports it was a fantastically well balanced car and a nice drive!

Cheers,

Paul.

[Ads]

***I have written a reply to this twice but tried to upload a photo that was too large, then lost the text!

The gist of the reply was that while I can't help for sure with the 'GT' moniker's first use, I can happily talk all day about Lancia Aurelias!

While the GT issue may be debatable, the Aurelia definately housed the world's first production V6 engine, and was constantly updated through six series over eight or so years.  The range of body styles was impressive, with Berlina, GT Coupe, Convertible and Spyder variants.  With a few tasty mods, including the Nardi floor shift and multi carb setups, they made for great all round touring road cars- indeed Aurelias were the choice of transport for several star Grand Prix drivers in the fifties, including Fangio.

Further modified versions of the GT were used to take an extraordinary 1-2-3 finish in the 1952 Targa Florio, so it wasn't a bad comp car either!  Lancia also won the Targa 'plate' in '53 and '54 albeit with cars of increasing speciality (D20 and D24 sportscars).

They are consequently very collectable cars today, especially in 'Spyder America' form.

It's such a tragedy that Ascari's death in 1955, combined with dire financial troubles, led to the withdrawal of Lancias from top line GP and Sportscar racing- the D50 GP car was the only thing that got close to matching the Mercedes W196 that year.  At least the cars achieved real success in 1956, albeit under the Ferrari banner (they acquired the D50's when Lancia went under), with Fangio taking the championship in a mildly updated version.