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Tribute to a lancista

[dropcap] H [/ dropcap] There are moments in our lives, especially for those of us who love researching the history of the automobile and, in my case in particular, everything related to the Lancia brand, in which we meet people whose enormous wisdom will mark us for good for life and increase our passion to unimaginable levels.

One of those very special people was Ramón Conesa, endowed with a great personality and who felt authentic devotion, rather… he loved Lancia.

Ramón, without any doubts, treasured a lot of knowledge about the trajectory of the Lancia that arrived in Spain in the decade of the 40s, since he, from 1944 to 1949, was working in a workshop specialized in the brand and , later, in the importer SADALE.

SADALE, an acronym for Sociedad Anónima de Automobiles Lancia España, was created by Oscar Rava, a former Lancia engineer of Jewish origin who, for obvious reasons, left Mussolini's fascist Italy with his family in the late 30s to settle in Spain, specifically in Barcelona.

The protagonist of our tribute, Ramón Conesa
The protagonist of our tribute, Ramón Conesa

Returning to the protagonist of our tribute, Ramón always remembered with longing his times as a mechanic, the repairs on models like the Lancia Aprilia, with its complicated technique, to which the mechanics of the time were not used; or how he had to find very ingenious solutions to repair the breakdowns that occurred with the precarious means of a Spain plunged into a harsh post-war period.

I remember perfectly the day I met Ramón and his family, when a server and a friend, also passionate about the history and ins and outs of the car, especially everything related to SEAT, attended a very special interview in a house located in a small town in the province of Tarragona. We were able to arrange it thanks to Roger, Ramón's grandson and also a lancista to the core like his grandfather.

For a whole morning we immersed ourselves and listened absorbed to the experiences and adventures of Ramón, as well as the story of SADALE. I promised him that I would write an article about our interview, but due to circumstances of fate, which as all readers know is sometimes very capricious, I never finished it to publish it.

A young Ramón Conesa, next to a Lancia
A young Ramón Conesa, next to a Lancia

Finally I decided to integrate that article into a book that I have been working on for a few years, dedicated to the history of Lancia in Spain, and where I considered Ramón had to appear on his own merits, in addition to serving as a just tribute and gratitude for sharing with me all his knowledge. Unfortunately our protagonist died unexpectedly and I was left with the burning of not having kept my word.

But let's go back to the moment in which I conducted the interview, in 2008. A month earlier, in January, together with a fellow fan and with the help of the president of the Clàssic Motor Club del Bages, as well as the The rest of the board of directors, we created, within that club, the Lancia Clásica Section.

Organizing the first outing we learned about the existence of a Lancia Astura from 1937, possibly one of the few survivors of this model in Spain, owned by the collector Josep Claret.

Right away a great idea came to my mind, the possibility of organizing a surprise with Ramón Conesa's family! It would consist of presenting us at his house with Astura without him knowing it.

A beautiful view of the Lancia Astura, also the protagonist of this article
A beautiful view of the Lancia Astura, also the protagonist of this article

No sooner said than done! I call Josep Claret by phone, and explain the project to him, being delighted to participate in it. It is fair to mention from these lines that without your generosity and sensitivity, this wonderful surprise could not have been realized.

After a few weeks trying to coordinate the three parties involved and choose a Saturday that would suit us all, we finally selected June 14th.

A surprise in the form of the Lancia Astura

It's 11 o'clock in the morning. After a quiet trip from Lleida, together with my friend, we are waiting at the entrance of the Stel campsite, located in the Tarragona town of Roda de Bará, for Josep's arrival aboard his Astura.

Meanwhile, we chat with Alfred Fortuny, also a member of the club and owner of a no less fantastic Lancia Augusta Spider. It will come with us.

View of the Lancia Astura instrument cluster
View of the Lancia Astura instrument cluster

Josep arrives punctually at the meeting place. The car is beautiful, it is a really elegant and refined machine; what to say about the sound of its 8-cylinder V-engine, music to our ears! Once everyone is assembled, we head towards El Creixell, where our "cronies" are waiting for us, Roger, his grandson, as well as the rest of the family.

The road is very short, especially by observing through the rear-view mirror of our car the reaction of the rest of the drivers and passers-by when seeing the Astura pass by on the way to our final destination. We arrive at the town, and we head down the streets of the urbanization where they are waiting for us.

Shortly before arriving, I call Roger to come and find us so that we do not get lost and so that his grandfather can become suspicious. To directly enjoy the emotion of the moment of arrival at the house where Ramón Conesa is, my friend and I decided to go up to Astura as Josep's companions.

The Astura's engine, an impressive 8-cylinder in a narrow V
The Astura's engine, an impressive 8-cylinder in a narrow V

Alfred Fortuny follows us with his car and Roger guides us to the house. My first impression when riding in the Astura is indefinable: its smoothness, the thrust of its narrow V 8-cylinder engine, the luxurious interior finish, its endless front end, it is any lanzista's dream come true! We have to think that it is the top model of the Italian brand in the 30s, generally dressed by the great couturiers, excuse me ... bodybuilders of the time and many times destined to act as an official car.

Let's go back to surprise. It is approximately 11:30 in the morning, our heart beats with emotion, and we appear in front of Ramón and his family's house, with the chance that they were all on the street, since they were waiting for Roger to return.

The expression on Ramón's face when he saw the Astura is indescribable and his words were the following:

[su_quote] ¡A Lancia !, ¡an Astura !, if they are the two journalists from Lleida !, [/ su_quote]

all this holding both hands to his face and visibly moved. At that moment a feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed all of us present, we knew that the surprise had been a success!

Ramón's face speaks for itself ... excited by surprise
Ramón's face speaks for itself ... excited by surprise

After the corresponding presentations by Josep and Alfred to all the attendees, Ramón immediately wanted to see the Astura's engine and began to remember many anecdotes from his time at SADALE, as well as the Lancia he repaired in his early years.

After a while of lively chat, another surprise, a box, but what was the content of it? Ramón opens it with great curiosity and takes out from inside a badge of membership of our club as well as another detail that ends up completely dazzling him: an official cap of his favorite brand, Lancia, an object that he had always wanted and that he would wear with full pride. .

But there were still more things to surprise him ... After suffering all those emotions, I tell Ramón, "How about we take a little ride with the Astura?", to which he replies that that would already be too much, that it is not necessary, although deep down we all know that he is wanting it. I insist again, I call Josep Claret and we all set off to the neighboring town of Torredembarra.

A Spanish Lancia, with its original registration
A Spanish Lancia, with its original registration

He immediately gets into the Lancia, the face of satisfaction is total, it is clear that he is enjoying himself as he had not done in a long time, just like all of us. On the way to Torredembarra, Ramón listens to the Astura's mechanical noises and examines its gait, as is the case with all of us who are dedicated to car mechanics. Meanwhile, in another car, we are taking photos of the Lancia in motion.

We arrive at the chosen point to take the best images. The protagonist of our surprise is amazed at the perfect functioning of the Astura and how fine its mechanics are, with the exception of the noise emitted by the gearbox in first gear, advising Josep to use a denser oil.

Once Roger is done with the photos, we go back to the Creixell again. We got home, and my friend and I stayed to eat with Ramón and his family until late in the afternoon; Unfortunately Alfred cannot stay and Josep has several business to attend to in the afternoon.

The day comes to an end, they have been very exciting and emotional hours, not only for the mere enjoyment and contemplation of Astura, but for seeing the happy face of Ramón and his entire family, of being able to remember anecdotes that belong to the history of the automobile of our country, to the history of Lancia, and that cannot and should not be forgotten.

 

Continue in the Photo gallery…

 

What do you think?

Written by Miguel Angel Eagle

Content written by Miguel Ángel Águila, fervent lancista and author of the book “Lancia Coupé and HPE: The forgotten ones of SEAT”. He also edits the research journal "Unpublished Car".

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