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Like
a car, a boat distinguishes its owner. Lancia
shares common values with performance boating,
typified by the pleasure derived from a unique
form of travel. Lancia’s association with the
sea dates back many years and involves sailing
as well as powered boating. From the Flaminia
class speed boats of the 1960s to the Monaco
Classic Week 2009.
Now, Lancia’s
first powerboat is making its debut in Venice, a city where
roads and cars are replaced by canals and boats - or
launches (lance) as the Venetians prefer to call them. The
stage chosen for the event is the Venice International Film
Festival, of which Lancia is main sponsor. While Lancia cars
accompany celebrities to and from Palazzo del Cinema, the
Lancia Powerboat will be carrying others to and from the
moorings of the Hotel Excelsior. The new boat has been
developed jointly by four Italian companies, each leader in
its own sector: Sacs, who produce luxury RIBs; FPT, a
company in the Fiat Group and manufacturer of the “best in
class” engines and Martini, regular partner of Lancia in the
field of racing.
Boats and glamour
Lancia’s involvement with boats dates back to the company’s
origins. Back in the 1920s, the company’s founder, Vincenzo
Lancia himself, drew inspiration from the ribbing of boat
hulls to design the monocoque body shell of the Lancia
Lambda, an innovation that changed car design for ever. Over
the next decades the link between Lancia’s prestigious cars
and the yachting world grew even stronger, resulting in the
creation of a special class of speed boats in the 1960s.
Flaminia Class boats were three point racers powered by the
same V6 engine as the Lancia Flaminia car. In 1980 Lancia
sponsored the J24 sailing class, and in 1987 the finals of
the One Ton Cup in Naples. Later, Lancia was behind the
Azzurra boat in Italy’s challenge for the America’s Cup, as
well as the Destriero, the boat that won the Blue Ribbon
Atlantic crossing race with Cesare Fiorio, winner of six
world rally championships and racing director of Team
Lancia. For demonstration purposes a Class 2 offshore
powerboat was even equipped with the 8.32 Ferrari engine
used to power a special version of the Lancia Thema. In more
recent times, Lancia has become a partner of the Monaco
Yacht Club and sponsored the 2008 Viareggio-Montecarlo-Viareggio
power yacht race. Lancia sponsored the Monaco Classic Week
in 2007 and is doing again this year, the centenary year of
the Yacht Club's flagship, the Tuiga. It should also be
remembered that Lancia’s latest model, the Delta, is now the
inspiration for a competition announced in Yacht Design
magazine, with five of Italy’s most prestigious marine
design studios invited to re-interpret the car in a marine
key. The proposed designs will be presented at the Monaco
Yacht Club on the 24th September, during the Monaco Boat
Show.
Cinema, fashion, design and marine sport are the stages that
Lancia has chosen to consolidate its presence and highlight
the class and style of Italian products. The Venice
International Film Festival brings all these elements
together and is therefore an ideal opportunity for Lancia to
take to the water, in the company of stars of the cinema.
Partners
Lancia is continuing its historic partnership with Martini,
acting as technical sponsor for the Lancia Café in Venice’s
Hotel Excelsior. Sports fans are sure to spot the
distinctive red, dark blue and light blue stripes of the
Martini Racing Team, enhancing the elegant livery of the
Lancia Powerboat and evoking the domination of Lancia and
Martini, first in the world rally championships of the 1980s
and later in offshore class 1 powerboat racing. The
continuing partnership between Lancia and Martini confirms
the affinity of these two icons of Italian style for sport
and elegance. Martini, Lancia and Sacs provide the lifestyle
and “joie de vivre”, while the Fiat Powertrain Technologies
provide the exhilarating engines.
The Lancia Powerboat
To get you moving on the water, Lancia has embodied all the
aristocratic elegance of a great sports coupe into a boat
built by Sacs. Sacs has twenty years of experience in
producing all types of RIB, and is world leader in high-tech
luxury RIBs. The Lancia Powerboat is the ultimate expression
of this type of vessel. The boat was designed, modelled and
built using the advanced tools and equipment that have
established Sacs as the sector’s technical leader. The
Lancia Powerboat is the creation of Christian Grande, one of
today’s most talented boat designers, and the genius behind
concepts that extend beyond the confines of boat design into
the realm of dynamic art. Each individual boat is unique,
manufactured industrially, but finished with all the care
and attention of a master boat-builder. The fibreglass hull
is made using moulds finished by robot milling machines.
Every component is then assembled and installed by hand to
permit each boat to be personalised to customer
specifications. In this way Sacs combines industrial levels
of productivity with all the exclusivity of ‘custom’
production. The Lancia Powerboat will be presented to the
public at the Genoa Boat Show.
Characteristics
The hull is 13.10 metres in length, with a broad beam of
3.83 metres. These figures give a moderate coefficient of
fineness, in search of balance between performance and
comfort on board. A limited draft of only 0.80 metres
permits navigation even in shallow waters. A weight to power
ratio of about 7.5 kg/HP establishes the boat as one of the
most powerful available. The two N67-560 engines by Fiat
Powertrain Technologies are “best in class”. The choice of
JMD propulsion, as used in competitive powerboats, typifies
the quest for high dynamic efficiency, not only for speed
purposes, but to reduce consumption and emissions by
ensuring maximum screw efficiency too. The fuel tank has a
capacity of 1000 litres, giving sufficient autonomy even for
long crossings. Cruising speeds range from 15 to 45 knots,
while top speed under ideal loading conditions tops 55
knots. The Lancia Powerboat can carry up to 11 persons, and
has a cabin to sleep two.
The modelling and finish of the exterior surfaces faithfully
reflects Lancia style. Designed by Christian Grande, the
Lancia Powerboat is characterised by an aggressive yet
balanced profile, with perfectly proportioned bow, cockpit
and stern. The hood blends perfectly with the lines of the
boat, thanks to a low profile that accentuates the vessel’s
sporting character. You can nevertheless stand up in the
cockpit even with the hood in place, if you want to drive in
maximum comfort and total privacy. The bow deck incorporates
two sunbathing mattresses to either side of the central
walkway that leads to the bow like a catwalk for passengers
to embark and disembark. In the same way, the engine covers
at the stern are upholstered to create a second sunbathing
area, with another walkway leading to the bathing platform.
The windows are design elements of special importance, each
with a specific function and style. The side windows
accentuate the boat’s aggressive character; the windscreen
opens to the bow gangway, and the rear window evokes the
fascinating style of a classic car. The RIB tubes are
largely incorporated into the hull, emerging only where
their presence serves to facilitate manoeuvring in tight
spaces without the need for fenders. The tubes also ensure
unsinkability by providing a number of separate air
compartments. Rows of LEDs under the transom and front
windscreen simulate the appearance of modern Lancia car
lights and emphasise the advanced technology and racing
temperament of the FPT engines. The deck expresses the
boat’s dynamism, with every aspect designed, shaped and
finished to convey a sense of movement even when the boat is
stationary. No perimeter handrails protrude to compromise
the purity of the boat’s sensuous lines. Passengers are
nevertheless well protected by tall inboard backrests and
experience a sensation of greater stability than normal
thanks to the low cockpit floor. The sky is yours at the
touch of a button too! The hood retracts into a dedicated
compartment leaving the full beauty of the cockpit open to
the sun. Martini Racing graphics add a final sporting touch.
A fold-away LCD television and a galley complete the cockpit
equipment. In the cabin, furnishing is characterised by
modern shapes and materials, and the lounge converts quickly
to a double bunk. Air conditioning lets you escape from the
heat of the sun and cool down. Bathroom facilities are
minimalist but impeccably finished. There are even coloured
LEDs to provide romantic lighting in the shower.
The driving experience
The Lancia Powerboat is the ideal choice for owners of
character, lovers of speed who would never think of giving
up the wheel because that would mean losing control over so
much power. 1120 horsepower, delivered at 3000 rpm, propel
you at up to 55 knots. The Fiat Powertrain Technologies
N67-560 engines develop ideal torque and power curves for
marine use, with bags of thrust at low engine speeds to get
the hull planning effectively. Driving the Lancia Powerboat
is a ‘not to be missed’ experience, and offers you the
choice of moderating power as you would in an elegant saloon
or using it to the full as you would in a thoroughbred
racing boat. The choice is entirely up to the driver. The
hull’s profile in the water has been carefully designed so
that anybody can drive the boat just like a Lancia car, but
with the added excitement of travel without limits. If you
want a more stimulating experience, all you have to do is
adjust the trim of the propulsion. Two buttons on the
throttle levers modify the propulsion angle to move the
screws higher or lower in the water. This changes the angle
of the hull with respect to the surface of the water,
increasing speed or stability in rough water. The hull is
derived from a Sacs racing prototype, and does not need
flaps, making it especially easy to drive. The engines are
controlled by electronic levers that operate the throttles
and smoothly engage forward and reverse propulsion. The
engines respond instantly, giving you complete control over
available power, and allowing you to turn and negotiate
waves with speed and precision.
FPT engines
FPT - Fiat Powertrain Technologies is the Fiat Group company
specialising in the R&D, production and sale of engines and
transmissions for automotive, industrial, marine, power
generation and railway applications. The FPT engine range
spans 20 to 1020 HP, and displacements from 1,000 to 20,100
cc. FPT is one of the world’s leading power train
manufacturers, and boasts over a hundred years of experience
through different brands. In 2008, output reached 2.9
million engines and 2.4 million gearboxes and axles. FPT
employs a workforce of around 20,000 (including 3,000 highly
qualified engineers), in 16 production plants and 11
research centres (two of which are dedicated to advanced
research) located in nine different countries.
FPT’s N67-560 diesel engines are best in class, as their
main specifications clearly show: weight to power ratio is
1.16 kg/HP; power to displacement ratio is 83.58 HP/litre;
and volume to power ratio is 1.2 dm3/HP. The N67-560 engine
is derived from the N67-450. Various changes have been made,
however, making the new engines far more suitable for racing
use without losing any of the reliability for which FPT’s
touring engines are famed. Technical developments include
the use of a higher class of turbocharger for better boost
and air flow. Injector operating pressure and atomiser flow
have also been increased to inject more fuel in less time.
Combustion chamber design has been modified to improve
efficiency while also reducing combustion pressure in order
to extend engine life. A new air/water heat exchanger has
been installed to reduce intake pressure drop and lower the
temperature of the combustion cycle. The flow rate of the
oil pump has also been increased to improve lubrication.
Finally, ‘ladder frame’ reinforcement ribbing has been added
to the bottom of the cylinder block to absorb the stress of
high speed operation on water. Prior to selection as power
unit for the Lancia Power boat, the N67-560 engine was
tested in endurance racing at even greater power outputs.
Because of the durations and speeds involved, endurance
racing provides the toughest dynamic testing to which any
marine engine can be subjected. The victory of four N67
engines in the prestigious Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race in 2008
is tangible proof of the excellent performance of the turbo
diesels in FPT’s N series, which includes 370, 400, 450 and
480 HP engines.
Lancia di Lancia - Technical
Specifications
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Lancia di Lancia, Venice -
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