"HF" or "Hi.Fi.", standing for "high
fidelity" signified membership of a slightly exclusive club, as designated
by the Lancia Company, for customers who had demonstrated their fidelity to the
marque by serially purchasing a certain number of new Lancias (one elephant per
Lancia purchase).
Later again they
started sticking HF as a logo on higher performance variants of production cars
to designate their sporting pedigree.
Let's start with
the elephants. There are contrasting stories and legends regarding the origin
of the elephant, including the simple "the elephant never forgets".
1)The symbol of the galloping elephant apparently originates in
Eastern mythology as an auspicious emblem or symbol of victory, providing the
trunk is stretched forward. This is how the elephant chosen by Gianni Lancia
was drawn, first in light blue and later in bright red.
2)Scuderia Lancia
competed in Giro di Sicily 1952. One of the drivers - Enrico Anselmi - had used
an elephant as a "sign" on his car for some years. He allowed the
Lancia team to use "his" elephant. That was the first time the
elephant was used on a Lancia competition car.
3)Lancia mechanics
painted an elephant on the side of the Mille Miglia cars to take the mickey out
of Ferrari and their prancing horse.
We know that in 1953 the managing director of Lancia, Gianni
Lancia, chose it as a good luck token for the company's first racing
appearances.
On the practical
side they had small discounts from the
price list, as well as on replacement parts and repairs for the Hi Fi club
members, and invited to exclusive events for the presentation of new models,
often abroad. Cannes and Nice (France) for the launch of the Dedra, Sevilla
(SP) for the Kappa.
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