Monday, May 04, 2015

1970 Lancia Fulvia











"HF" or "Hi.Fi.", standing for "high fidelity" signified membership of a slightly exclusive club, as designated by the Lancia Company, for customers who had demonstrated their fidelity to the marque by serially purchasing a certain number of new Lancias (one elephant per Lancia purchase).

Later again they started sticking HF as a logo on higher performance variants of production cars to designate their sporting pedigree.

Let's start with the elephants. There are contrasting stories and legends regarding the origin of the elephant, including the simple "the elephant never forgets".

1)The symbol of the galloping elephant apparently originates in Eastern mythology as an auspicious emblem or symbol of victory, providing the trunk is stretched forward. This is how the elephant chosen by Gianni Lancia was drawn, first in light blue and later in bright red.

2)Scuderia Lancia competed in Giro di Sicily 1952. One of the drivers - Enrico Anselmi - had used an elephant as a "sign" on his car for some years. He allowed the Lancia team to use "his" elephant. That was the first time the elephant was used on a Lancia competition car.

3)Lancia mechanics painted an elephant on the side of the Mille Miglia cars to take the mickey out of Ferrari and their prancing horse.

We know that in 1953 the managing director of Lancia, Gianni Lancia, chose it as a good luck token for the company's first racing appearances.


On the practical side they had  small discounts from the price list, as well as on replacement parts and repairs for the Hi Fi club members, and invited to exclusive events for the presentation of new models, often abroad. Cannes and Nice (France) for the launch of the Dedra, Sevilla (SP) for the Kappa. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/55176801@N02/9119371137/




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