Introduced in 1939, the Lancia Ardea featured a 903cc, V4 power plant with an alloy cylinder head and became the smallest production V4. In 1948, the third Series Ardea became the first mass produced motorcar to feature a five-speed gearbox. The unitary construction included a pillarless section between the doors. Due to its small size, this allowed ease of access to the rear passenger compartment. Every Lancia Ardea was built in righthand drive; Lancia not manufacturing a production lefthand drive vehicle until 1955. Production of the Ardea ceased in 1953 with nearly 23,000 examples being produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n