Anyone who thought that wipers on side mirrors and side windows were crazy, does not yet know the Lancia Flaminia Berlina inside and out. It had wipers on the inside! A remarkable ‘innovation’ that we will discuss in more detail.
Recently, the Nissan Cima and Toyota Mark II shone in this category, due to their temporarily available wipers in remarkable places. This was the result of the Japanese desire for unlimited luxury during the so-called ‘Bubble Economy’. In a completely different era and a completely different part of the world, however, something remarkable was done before in terms of windshield wipers. In Italy, in the early 1960s, Lancia was still a highly regarded brand and was armed to the teeth to take on the competition from across the border. The Lancia Flaminia was the cream of the crop from the manufacturer and got everything Lancia had to take to take the luxury experience to a new level.
The Flaminia was not only Lancia’s showpiece, but was also a feast for the eyes as a Cabriolet, Coupe, GT and in particular the Sport (Zagato). The Berlina was also welcome, although it was slightly more conventional in shape. In the sedan, the distinctive character had to come mainly from luxury and performance. Lancia pulled out all the stops for that. With the second series of the Flaminia Berlina, which came on the market in 1961, the power of the 2.5 V6 was increased to 110 hp, quite strong for that time. Later there would even be a 2.8 liter with 129 hp. However, we focus on the Flaminia from 1961, because it had an optional four (!) Rear window wipers. Two on the outside and two, yes, on the inside.
The inner wipers in pictures (photo: Sean Patrick)
The wipers at the rear (special anyway, because a wiper on the rear window of a sedan is also a thing of the past) obviously had the usual task: they drained the rainwater. The wipers on the inside, which moved exactly in sync with the other wipers across the window, had the task of removing any condensation. After all, at that time it was still normal for a luxury sedan to get very moist inside through all kinds of cracks and seams. We are also talking about the time before rear window defroster. With this beautiful accessory, the two extra wipers, you would no longer suffer from unwanted moisture. Very nice, because Lancia thought that good rear view was extra important because of the ‘considerable top speed’ of almost 170 km / h.
While it was a striking innovation and undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention by Flaminia owners, the extra windshield wipers were short-lived. The facility disappeared again around 1965. Five years later, the curtain fell for the Flaminia in its entirety. After another six years, a spiritual successor to the Flaminia came in the form of the Gamma in 1976. In addition, Lancia saw the need for a rear wiper (let alone several) at all.