Lancia racing colours 1953

The last page of 'Annual Automobile Review' for 1953 features a very nice colour photograph of three Lancia D23's line up in a paddock scene, possibly Monza. The cars numbered 2 and 4 are open models while number 6 is a coupe. I suspect that this is a scene from the 1953 Monza 1000 kilometres race but wonderd why the bodywork of the cars should have been blue with red/orange radiator cowlings and air intakes (on numbers 6 and 2). Perhaps if this was, the Monza race it enabled the cars to be more easily identified among all the other (red) Italian cars. However, the picture appears to be an advertisement for a Swiss photography company and, perhaps, the result of of some artistic retouching?.

Early in the year they were also dark blue with beige white

Early in the year they were also dark blue with beige white

If you visit You Tube and enter 1953 24 Hours of LeMans - Pre Race you will see the Lancias (amongst others) in colour, albeit its a low res film in this format taken by Frank Burrell from above the Allard pits.

If you visit You Tube and enter 1953 24 Hours of LeMans - Pre Race you will see the Lancias (amongst others) in colour, albeit its a low res film in this format taken by Frank Burrell from above the Allard pits.

Thank you Paul. A reminder of sports car racings greatest days. Still wonder why Lancia's should have been blue though.

Thank you Paul. A reminder of sports car racings greatest days. Still wonder why Lancia's should have been blue though.

Lancia racing colors are a whole little story in themselves. You'd think they would have picked a color and stuck with it, but that was too simple! Even in the 1951 MM, they had different colored cars, and in the 1952, I think there were 6 different colors, very different. Yes, you'd think red for the sports racers, but then there are the races with two-tone, including blue with red stripes.

Not sure what they were up to, but it makes color photos of the cars a quest as well, to see what they were doing.

Lancia racing colors are a whole little story in themselves. You'd think they would have picked a color and stuck with it, but that was too simple! Even in the 1951 MM, they had different colored cars, and in the 1952, I think there were 6 different colors, very different. Yes, you'd think red for the sports racers, but then there are the races with two-tone, including blue with red stripes.

Not sure what they were up to, but it makes color photos of the cars a quest as well, to see what they were doing.

Thats interesting, thanks Geoff.

Lancia racing colors are a whole little story in themselves. You'd think they would have picked a color and stuck with it, but that was too simple! Even in the 1951 MM, they had different colored cars, and in the 1952, I think there were 6 different colors, very different. Yes, you'd think red for the sports racers, but then there are the races with two-tone, including blue with red stripes.

Not sure what they were up to, but it makes color photos of the cars a quest as well, to see what they were doing.

Somewhere long ago I saw a picture of the 1953 cars at I think Monza and at least one of them was a very pretty pastel blue, allowing for the colour bias of the film of course.

you cansee a picture of the Lancia Trio in Automobile year 1