Lancia () is an Italian
car manufacturer and a subsidiary of
FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a
Stellantis
Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a 50–50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. The comp ...
division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but its history is traced back to ''Lancia & C.'', a manufacturing concern founded in 1906 in
Torino by
Vincenzo Lancia
Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia.
Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabell ...
(1881–1937) and Claudio Fogolin. It became part of
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
in 1969.
The brand is known for its strong
rallying heritage, and technical innovations such as the
unibody chassis of the 1922
Lambda
Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave ri ...
and the five-speed gearbox introduced in the 1948
Ardea. Despite not competing in the
World Rally Championship since 1992, Lancia still holds more
Manufacturers' Championships than any other brand.
Sales of Lancia-branded vehicles declined from over 300,000 annual units sold in 1990 to less than 100,000 by 2010. After corporate parent Fiat acquired a stake in
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
in 2009, the Lancia brand portfolio was modified to include
rebadged Chrysler products, for sale in most European markets. In the United Kingdom and Ireland however, Lancias were rebadged as Chryslers. As sales continued to drop the Lancia-badged Chryslers were no longer offered after 2015. Since then, the company's only product has been the
Lancia Ypsilon, and sales outside of Italy ended in 2017. Despite Lancia's much smaller brand presence, the Ypsilon continues to be popular in Italy; in fact it was the second best-selling car there in 2019.
The newly-merged Franco-Italian-American company Stellantis has stated that it will try to revive Italy’s Lancia, with the move also suggesting there will be more than one model for the brand and sales outside of Italy for the first time in years.
History
Foundation and early years
Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili was founded on 27 November 1906 in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
by
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
racing drivers,
Vincenzo Lancia
Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia.
Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabell ...
(1881-1937) and his friend, Claudio Fogolin (1872-1945). The first car manufactured by Lancia was the "
Tipo 51" or "12 HP" (later called "Alfa"), which remained in production from 1907 to 1908. It had a small four-cylinder engine with a power output of .
In 1910, Lancia components were exported to the United States where they were assembled and sold as
SGVs by the SGV Company. In 1915, Lancia also manufactured its first truck, the
Jota
Jota may refer to:
__NOTOC__
* Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet;
* (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet;
* The name of t ...
, that continued as a dedicated series. In 1937, Vincenzo died of a heart attack. His wife, Adele Miglietti Lancia, and his son,
Gianni Lancia
Gianni Lancia (16 November 1924 – 30 June 2014) was an Italian automobile engineer, industrialist and racing enthusiast, known for running the Lancia carmaker in Turin (1949–55). Born in Fobello (near Biella), he was the older son of Vince ...
, took over control of the company. They persuaded
Vittorio Jano to join as an engineer. Jano had already made a name for himself by designing various
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...
models, including some of its most successful race cars ever such as the
6C,
P2 and
P3.
Lancia is renowned in the automotive world for introducing cars with numerous innovations. These include the
Theta
Theta (, ; uppercase: Θ or ; lowercase: θ or ; grc, ''thē̂ta'' ; Modern: ''thī́ta'' ) is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 9.
G ...
of 1913, which was the first European production car to feature a complete electrical system as standard equipment.
Lancia's first car adopting a
monocoque chassis – the
Lambda
Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave ri ...
produced from 1922 to 1931 - featured '
Sliding Pillar' independent front suspension that incorporated the spring and hydraulic damper into a single unit (a feature that would be employed in subsequent Lancias, up to the
Appia that was replaced in 1963). In 1948, the first 5-speed
gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), diff ...
was fitted to a production car (Series 3 Ardea). Lancia premiered the first full-production
V6 engine, in the 1950
Aurelia,
[1980; page 2 of]
www.ritzsite.nl/Lancia/02_LanciaCC.htm
accessdate: 14. June 2016 after earlier industry-leading experiments with
V8 and
V12 engine configurations. It was also the first manufacturer to produce a
V4 engine. Other innovations involved the use of
independent suspension in production cars (in an era where
live axles were common practice for both the front and rear axles of a car), and rear transaxles, which were first fitted to the
Aurelia and
Flaminia range. This drive for innovation, constant quest for excellence, fixation of quality, complex construction processes and antiquated production machinery meant that all cars essentially had to be hand-made. With little commonality between the various models, the cost of production continued to rise, while flat demand eventually affected Lancia's viability.
Gianni Lancia, a graduate engineer, was president of Lancia from 1947 to 1955. In 1956, the Pesenti family took over control of Lancia with Carlo Pesenti (1907–1984) in charge of the company.
1969 to present
Fiat launched a take-over bid in October 1969. It was accepted by Lancia as the company was losing significant sums of money, with losses in 1969 being 20 million. This was not the end of the distinctive Lancia marque, and new models in the 1970s such as the
Stratos
Stratos may refer to:
People As surname
*Andreas Stratos (1905–1981), Greek politician and historian
*Demetrio Stratos (1945–1979), Italian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music researcher
* Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), Greek politici ...
,
Gamma
Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter r ...
and
Beta proved that
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
wished to preserve the image of the brand it had acquired.
Autobianchi, bought by Fiat Group just a year before, was put under the control of Lancia.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Lancia had great success in
rallying, winning many
World Rally Championships.
During the 1980s, the company cooperated with
Saab Automobile, with the
Lancia Delta being sold as the
Saab 600 in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
. The 1985
Lancia Thema also shared a
platform with the
Saab 9000,
Fiat Croma and the
Alfa Romeo 164. During the 1990s, all models were closely related to other Fiat models.
Starting from 1 February 2007, Fiat's automotive operations were reorganised.
Fiat Auto became
Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.,
Fiat S.p.A.
Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automob ...
's branch handling mainstream automotive production. Simultaneously the current company, ''Lancia Automobiles S.p.A.'', was created from the pre-existing brand, and controlled 100% by FCA.
In 2011, Lancia moved in a new direction and added new models manufactured by
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
and sold under the Lancia badge in many European markets. Conversely, Lancia-built models began to be sold in right-hand drive markets under the Chrysler badge.
In 2015 Lancia's parent company Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. became
FCA Italy S.p.A., reflecting the earlier incorporation of Fiat S.p.A. into
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Despite doubts about the brand's future following the completion of the
Stellantis
Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a 50–50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. The comp ...
merger in 2021, Lancia was made part of a joint group with sister companies Alfa Romeo and
DS Automobiles, to develop new premium models for the 2024 model year. As part of Stellantis' recovery plan for Lancia, Luca Napolitano was appointed the car maker's CEO, and
Jean-Pierre Ploué
Jean-Pierre Ploué is a French car designer, born in 1962, known for bringing the Citroën marque back to strength and restoring its reputation for innovation and strong individualistic styling.
Biography
Ploué graduated from the École nati ...
its chief designer. Three new electric models were announced in June 2021: a replacement city car for the Ypsilon; a compact crossover (codenamed L74 and rumoured to be named the Aurelia); and a compact hatchback, likely to be a new Delta.
2021 - Lancia's 115th anniversary
Lancia celebrated the 115th anniversary of its foundation in 2021.
Luca Napolitano and
Jean-Pierre Ploué
Jean-Pierre Ploué is a French car designer, born in 1962, known for bringing the Citroën marque back to strength and restoring its reputation for innovation and strong individualistic styling.
Biography
Ploué graduated from the École nati ...
celebrated Lancia’s 115th anniversary with a docufilm entitled ''Elegance on the move''.
Logo
;1907
From 1907 to 1910 Lancia cars didn't bear a true badge, but rather a brass plaque identifying the manufacturer (Lancia & C.) and chassis code; although some models did have a brass Lancia script on the grille.
;1911
The original Lancia logo was designed by Count
Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia Conte Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia (24 August 1879 in Torino – 7 September 1959 in Ripafratta, San Giuliano Terme near Pisa) was an Italian artist, industrial designer, journalist and automobile enthusiast.
He was the son of Roberto Biscaretti di ...
.
In 1910 Vincenzo Lancia asked Biscaretti di Ruffia to design a badge for the company: the Count submitted six
watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
proposal sketches. Vincenzo Lancia chose a round one, composed by a blue
lance and flag bearing a Lancia script ("Lancia" means "lance" in Italian) in gold, over a four-spoke steering wheel, with a hand
throttle detail on the right spoke.
The first car to bear the Lancia logo was the
Gamma 20 HP in 1911.
;1929
In 1929 the logo acquired its final layout: the previous round badge was superimposed on a blue shield in the shape of a
Reuleaux triangle (as found in one of Biscaretti di Ruffia's six original proposals).
Though first applied on the 1929
Dikappa, this badge was only used consistently starting with the 1936
Aprilia.
;1957
Beginning with the 1957
Flaminia, Lancia cars switched from the traditional vertical split grille to a horizontal, full-width one. The logo was moved inside the grille opening, and changed to a more stylized chromed metal open-work design; shield and steering wheel became chrome frames, the only remaining enameled surface being the blue field of the flag. This new metal logo was used on most models with some exceptions, namely
Zagato
Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 ...
-bodied
Lancia Fulvia
The Lancia Fulvia (Tipo 818) is an automobile produced by Lancia between 1963 and 1976. Named after Via Fulvia, the Roman road leading from Tortona to Turin, it was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 and manufactured in three variants: ...
s and
Flavias, the
Lancia 2000 Berlina (which reprised the traditional upright grille and the round enameled badge) and the
Stratos HF (whose ornaments lacked the triangular shield).
;1974
In 1974 the badge was redesigned on
Umberto Agnelli's request;
it went back to a modernised silver, white and blue version of the 1929 design. Flag and lance were unified in a single shape and dispensed with the earlier minute detailing, the Lancia letters became all of the same size, and the steering wheel became also outlined in blue and lost the hand throttle detail. This logo debuted on the 1979
Lancia Delta,
and made its way on the other models as they adopted the split grille introduced by the Delta. Though lightly revised in 2000 with the addition of a chrome shield surround, the 1974 logo was used through four decades, up to 2006.
;2007
The current logo, designed by Robilant Associati, was presented at the 2007
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by t ...
—a couple of months after the creation of Lancia Automobiles.
While the traditional chrome-framed blue shield has been retained and made three-dimensional, for the first time since 1911 lance and flag are absent; the steering wheel has been stylized into a chromed circle, from which two spikes converge towards the modern Lancia logotype in the centre.
Lancia family
Cavalier Giuseppe Lancia (1860 (
Cuneo
Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area.
It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...
) - 1919 (
Bordighera
Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and '' comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria ( Italy).
Geography
Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with ...
) was an Italian businessman and father of
Vincenzo Lancia
Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia.
Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabell ...
. When he was sixteen he started a business with food in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Later, for a few years, he made relationships with
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
and he created a food industry in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
. His efforts and innovations made his company a great success. His company was one of the first food companies in the country and showed new methods in this sector. When he made a fortune, he returned to Italy. By his education, Giuseppe was a translator. In 1875, he married Marianna Orazzi. In 1876, their first son Giovanni was born. In 1879 their daughter Margherita was born. She died in 1894. In 1881, their third child, Vincenzo Lancia, was born. Their second daughter, Anna Maria (later Anna-Maria-Giacobinni), was born in 1884. In their free time, the Lancias spent their time at a villa near Turin.
Vincenzo Lancia
Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia.
Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabell ...
was born on 24 August 1881 in
Fobello near Turin. His father wanted Vincenzo to be a lawyer, but did not have much interest in the humanities. He met the Battista brothers as well as Giovanni Ceirano and became interested in science and technology, especially automobiles. He saw his first cars in Turin and Milan. One of his friends, Carlo Bishareti di Ruffia, had a Benz and that was the first important automobile in his life. When
FIAT
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
was founded in 1899, Vincenzo was very active in the company and later became one of the most famous test drivers of Italian automobile brands. In 1922, Vincenzo married his secretary - Adele Miglietti. Vincenzo and Adele had three children: Gianni, Eleonora and Maria. He died on February 15, 1937.
Gianni Lancia
Gianni Lancia (16 November 1924 – 30 June 2014) was an Italian automobile engineer, industrialist and racing enthusiast, known for running the Lancia carmaker in Turin (1949–55). Born in Fobello (near Biella), he was the older son of Vince ...
was born on 24 November 1924 in Turin. He finished his education with his sisters at the Technical University of Pisa. From the time he was a little boy Gianni loved sports, but his greatest passion was motor racing. This led him to become a driver for the Lancia team. Gianni became the boss of Lancia in 1950. He invested a lot of money in expensive prototypes and other unprofitable ventures that led him to sell a big part of the company to Carlo Pesenti in 1957. After that he started a business in the food industry. For a few years he lived in Brazil. He had two sons, Mariele and Vincenzo, from his first marriage, and one son, Lorenzo Lancia, from his marriage to Jacqueline Sassard. He died on 30 June 2014.
Automotive
Current car models
Lancia Ypsilon
The Ypsilon is a premium 5-door
supermini car produced since 2011. It is based on an updated
Fiat 500 platform. It was previously available for sale in many European markets; however, since 2017, it has only been available in Italy. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
it was previously sold as the ''Chrysler Ypsilon''.
Although it is the only Lancia car in production and only for sale in Italy, the Ypsilon continues to be popular there; it was the second best-selling car in Italy in 2019.
Past car models
Historical models
The
Lancia Aurelia introduced the front engine rear transmission configuration later used by Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, GM, Volvo and Maserati, as well as the V6 engine, which is now common. It had
inboard rear brakes, an important way of reducing un-sprung weight.
The
Lancia Stratos was a successful rally car during the 1970s, and helped the company to improve its sporting credentials.
Chrysler-derived models
The second generation
Lancia Thema executive car
Executive car is a British term for a large car which is equivalent to the European E-segment and American full-size classifications. Executive cars are larger than compact executive cars (and the non-luxury equivalent mid-size cars), and sm ...
(2011 – 2014) was a re-branded second generation
Chrysler 300 unveiled in 2011 to replace the
Thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...
. It reused the name of the Italian made 1984–94
Thema saloon. It used to be available in various European markets, but for the United Kingdom and Ireland it was only sold as the ''Chrysler 300C''. It was discontinued in 2015.
The
Lancia Voyager
Voyager may refer to:
Computing and communications
* LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics
* NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation
* Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...
was a
large MPV unveiled in 2011, which was based on the
Chrysler Town & Country. It was marketed in various European markets, but for the United Kingdom and Ireland it was only sold as the ''Chrysler Grand Voyager''. It was discontinued in 2015.
Between 2012 and 2014, the
Chrysler 200 Convertible was rebranded and marketed under the Lancia Flavia name. The Flavia was only available in
left-hand drive markets, and thus not sold in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
or
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
.
File:" 12 - ITALY - Lancia Thema - Bologna.JPG, Lancia Thema
Lancia Voyager 2.8 MultiJet 16v Gold – Frontansicht, 10. März 2012, Düsseldorf.jpg, Lancia Voyager
File:Lancia Flavia 2.4 16v – Frontansicht, 9. Juni 2012, Düsseldorf.jpg, Lancia Flavia
Concept cars
Lancia has shown several
concept cars to the public including the Flaminia Loratmo (1958),
Stratos Zero (1970), the
Megagamma by
Italdesign Giugiaro and
Sibilo by
Bertone in 1978, Hit (1988) by
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...
, the Bertone-designed
Kayak (1995), the
Dialogos (1998) and Nea in 2000. The company showed the Granturismo Stilnovo and
Fulvia concepts in 2003.
Special cars
In the end of 1960, Lancia made their first
landaulet-
limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...
for the
President of Italy, called the
Lancia Flaminia 335 Presidenziale.
In 1989, Lancia made a limousine version of the
Thema. 24 examples for Fiat-Group executives.
In 1999, Lancia made a one-off limousine version of the
Kappa
Kappa (uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; el, κάππα, ''káppa'') is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value ...
and at the 2004
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by t ...
, Stola showed a limousine version of the
Thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...
.
Export markets
In January 2014, in an interview with ''
La Repubblica
''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arno ...
'', Fiat
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Sergio Marchionne foreshadowed that Lancia would become an Italy–only brand, and focus only on the Ypsilon supermini range.
United States
While some models had been imported on a small scale during the 1950s to the 1960s, Lancias were sold in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
from 1975. Sales were comparatively slow, and the range was withdrawn at the same time as Fiat in 1982.
In 2009, following Fiat's acquisition of a stake in United States-based
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
and part of Chrysler's restructuring plans, it was stated that Fiat plans for the Chrysler brand and Lancia to co–develop products, with some vehicles being shared. Olivier Francois, Lancia's CEO, took over as CEO of the
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
division in October 2009. Fiat also announced that, depending on the market, some Chrysler cars would be sold as Lancias and vice versa.
Francois' plans to re-establish the Chrysler brand as an upscale brand were somewhat muddied by the discontinuance of the
Plymouth brand. At the 2010
Detroit Auto Show
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019 ...
, a Chrysler-badged
Lancia Delta was on display, but this did not result in sales in the United States, with proposals to instead modify an Alfa Romeo for sale by 2013.
United Kingdom
Lancia's reputation was significantly undermined in 1980, when defective Lancia Beta models, suffering from significant suspension sub-frame corrosion problems, were purchased back from owners by the company in a highly publicised campaign. These cars were later crushed.
The brand never recovered from the damage inflicted during the Beta recall and, combined with a range of related factors (including poor residual values, which made their range uncompetitive), decided to withdraw from the
right-hand drive market in February 1994.
The last model to be sold in the United Kingdom was the Delta, boosted by its rallying reputation, withdrawn from sale in 1995, although a small number of left-hand drive Lancia models have since reached the UK as personal imports.
After 1995, there were continuous rumours suggesting Lancia's return to the United Kingdom. In November 2005, ''
What Car?
''What Car?'' is a British monthly automobile magazine and website, currently edited by Steve Huntingford and published by Haymarket Consumer Media. Other team members include deputy editor Darren Moss and test editors Will Nightingale, Neil ...
'' reported rumours over the alleged return, to rival "affordable" premium makes, such as
Saab and
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
. In September 2006, ''What Car?'' reported that Lancia were returning to the United Kingdom. The relaunch date was set for August 2008. In April 2008, ''
Car'' reported that Lancia had postponed the relaunch. In June 2009, ''
Autocar'' reported that the relaunch of Lancia was now “very unlikely”.
These rumours were credible since Lancia models, by that time, shared common parts with
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
and
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...
models that were imported, sold and maintained by an existing dealership network. The cost to reestablish the brand would therefore be minimal. In December 2008, however, Fiat cancelled relaunch plans, due to financial concerns coinciding with the global financial crisis, and the
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
.
In 2011, Lancia Ypsilon and Delta models were eventually reintroduced to the United Kingdom, but were sold under the Chrysler marque. In January 2014, the slow-selling Delta model was dropped from this line-up. In March 2015, Fiat Group announced that the Chrysler brand would be discontinued in the United Kingdom in 2017, citing a desire to focus largely on the Jeep brand instead.
Japan
A small number of Lancia models were previously sold in Japan, such as
Fulvia,
Stratos
Stratos may refer to:
People As surname
*Andreas Stratos (1905–1981), Greek politician and historian
*Demetrio Stratos (1945–1979), Italian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music researcher
* Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), Greek politici ...
and
Delta. More recently, some models have been sold under the Chrysler brand, such as the
Ypsilon.
Lancia in motorsport
Formula One
After Vincenzo Lancia's son
Gianni became director of the firm, it started to take part more frequently in motorsport, eventually deciding to build a Grand Prix car.
Vittorio Jano was the new designer for Lancia and his
Lancia D50
The Lancia D50 was a Formula One racing car designed by Vittorio Jano for Lancia in 1954. The car's design made use of many innovative features, such as the use of the engine as a stressed chassis member, the off-centre positioning of the engine t ...
was entered into the
1954 Spanish Grand Prix, where
Alberto Ascari took the pole position and drove the fastest lap. In the
1955 Monaco Grand Prix Ascari crashed into the harbour after missing a chicane. One week later Ascari was killed in an accident driving a Ferrari sports car at Monza. With Ascari's death and Lancia's financial problems the company withdrew from Grand Prix racing.
Altogether Lancia took two victories and ten podiums in Formula One.
Remnants of the Lancia team were transferred to
Scuderia Ferrari,
where
Juan Manuel Fangio won the
1956 championship with a Lancia-Ferrari car.
Rallying
Lancia has been very successful in motorsport over the years, and mostly in the arena of
rallying. Prior to the forming of the
World Rally Championship (WRC), Lancia took the final
International Championship for Manufacturers title with the
Fulvia in 1972. In the WRC, they remain the most statistically successful marque (despite having withdrawn at the end of the
1993 season
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The White House (Moscow), Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Cze ...
), winning
constructors' titles with the
Stratos
Stratos may refer to:
People As surname
*Andreas Stratos (1905–1981), Greek politician and historian
*Demetrio Stratos (1945–1979), Italian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music researcher
* Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), Greek politici ...
(
1974,
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and
1976), the
037 (
1983) and the
Delta (six consecutive wins from
1987 to
1992). The Delta is also the most successful individual model designation ever to compete in rallying. All this gave Lancia a total of 11
Championships
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
over the years and 15
European Championship from 1969 to 1992.
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen (; born 2 April 1959) is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which ...
and
Miki Biasion
Massimo "Miki" Biasion (born 7 January 1958) is an Italian rally driver, two-time World Rally champion.
Career
Biasion was born in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto.
Biasion came to prominence in the early 1980s, winning both the Italian and Europea ...
both won two
drivers' titles with the Delta. Among other drivers to take several World Rally Championship wins with Lancia were
Markku Alén
Markku Allan Alén (born 15 February 1951) is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins (801) in the series, until Sébasti ...
,
Didier Auriol,
Sandro Munari
Sandro Munari (born 27 March 1940), also nicknamed 'Il Drago' (The Dragon) is a former motor racing and rally driver from Italy.
Career
Sandro Munari was born in Cavarzere, in the Veneto region. He began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Ral ...
,
Bernard Darniche,
Walter Röhrl,
Björn Waldegård and
Henri Toivonen
Henri Pauli Toivonen (25 August 1956 – 2 May 1986) was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri, became a profes ...
. The history of the brand in rallying is also tainted with tragedy, with deaths of Italian driver
Attilio Bettega
Attilio Bettega (19 February 1953 – 2 May 1985) was an Italian rally driver.''Autosport'' 50th Anniversary Issue Celebrating 50 years of the Best in Motorsport. page 173. 13 July 2000. Haymarket Specialist Magazines
Biography
Bettega was bor ...
at the 1985
Tour de Corse in a
Lancia 037 and then Finnish championship favourite Toivonen in a
Lancia Delta S4 at the same rally exactly a year later. These deaths would eventually lead to the end of
Group B rallying.
Sports car racing
In 1951
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...
, Lancia Aurelia B20 GT came second overall. The car was driven by Thornley Kelham.
In 1953,
Umberto Maglioli won the
Targa Florio at the wheel of the Lancia D20. The same year Lancia introduced the
D24 sports racer, which was an evolution of D23 model, but rebodied as a spider by Pinin Farina. Its most significant victories were the
1953 Carrera Panamericana, the
1954 Mille Miglia
The 1954 Mille Miglia (officially XXI Mille Miglia ), was a motor race open to Sports Cars, GT cars and Touring Cars. It was the 21st Mille Miglia and the third race of the 1954 World Sportscar Championship. The race was held on the public road ...
and the 1954
Targa Florio.
During Lancia's dominance of rallying, the company also expanded into sports cars in the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. It first ran the
Stratos HF in
Group 4, and for a brief interlude with a rare
Group 5 version. The car was replaced with the successful
Beta Montecarlo Turbo winning the FIA's
1980 World Championship for Makes and
1981 World Endurance Championship for Makes and the 1980
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft.
In 1982 the team moved up to
Group 6 with the
LC1 Spyder, followed by the
Group C LC2 coupé which featured a
Ferrari powerplant in 1983. The LC2 was a match for the standard-setting
Porsche 956 in terms of raw speed, securing 13 pole positions over its lifetime; however, its results were hampered by poor reliability and
fuel economy, and it only managed to win three
European and
World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to:
* FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012
* World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985
* Enduran ...
races. The team's inability to compete against the dominant
Porsche 956 and
962
Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...
sports cars led it to drop out of sportscar racing at the end of 1986 in order to concentrate on rallying, although private teams continued to enter LC2s with declining results until the early 1990s.
Titles
*
1979 World Championship for Makes (under 2-litre division)
*
1980 World Championship for Makes (overall)
*
1981 World Endurance Championship for Makes (overall)
*1980
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
Commercial vehicles
Lancia produced a wide range of vans, trucks, buses and military vehicles from the beginning, forming Lancia Veicoli Industriali in 1912. Lancia slowly withdrew from the commercial sectors during the late 1960s and production of commercial vehicles ended in the early 1970s, shortly after Fiat's takeover of the company, with some models transferred to
Iveco.
Light commercial vehicles
* 1958
Lancia Ardea
The Lancia Ardea is a small family car produced by Italian car manufacturer Lancia between 1939 and 1953. Its unusually short bonnet reportedly contained the smallest V4 engine ever commercialized in a small family car.
Nearly 23,000 of the Ard ...
Furgoncino (van), Cassone (pick-up)
* 1950
Lancia Beta
* 1953
Lancia Appia Furgoncino (van), Camioncino (pick-up)
* 1959
Lancia Jolly
* 1963
Lancia Superjolly
Heavy commercial vehicles
* 1915
Lancia Jota
The Lancia Jota (from the Greek letter iota) is a series of truck and bus chassis produced by Lancia between 1915 and 1935. The original 1915 Jota was the first true Lancia truck; throughout the following two decades it was made in a number of d ...
* 1915
Lancia Djota
* 1921
Lancia Triota
* 1921
Lancia Tetrajota
* 1924
Lancia Pentajota
* 1926
Lancia Esajota
* 1927
Lancia Eptajota
* 1932
Lancia Ro
* 1935
Lancia Ro-Ro
* 1938
Lancia 3Ro
* 1943
Lancia Esaro
* 1941
Lancia E290 electric truck, 202 built (E290 & E291) (La Lancia 3rd Ed, p.431, Wim Oude Weerink)
* 1947 Lancia 6Ro
* 1947
Lancia Esatau
* 1957 Lancia Esatau B
* 1959
Lancia Esadelta
* 1963 Lancia Esadelta B
* 1967 Lancia Esadelta C
* 1969
Lancia Esagamma
Buses
* 1919
Lancia Eptaiota
* 1920
Lancia Trijota (bus)
* 1922 Lancia Tetraiota
* 1925 Lancia Pentaiota
* 1927
Lancia Omicron
Lancia Omicron is a bus chassis produced by the Italian manufacturer Lancia. Production of the Omicron started in 1927 and ended in 1936 after 601 total models were built.
History
This chassis was fitted with many different body types, a short ...
* 1934
Lancia Ro (bus)
* 1947
Lancia Esatau (bus)
* 1949
Lancia Esatau (bus) V11
* 1953
Lancia Esatau (bus) V81
* 1957
Lancia Esatau (bus) 703
* 1964
Lancia Esagamma (bus) 715/718
Trolleybuses
* 1951 Lancia Esatau Pistoiesi
* 1956 Lancia Esatau Piaggio Ansaldo
* 1961
Lancia Esatau V.11 (trolleybus)
* 1966
Lancia Diafa trolleybus
* 1967 Lancia Bimax
* 1968 Lancia Bimax F600
* 1968 Lancia Pistoiesi
* 1969 Lancia Menarini Monocar
* 1969 Lancia Esatau P Casaro
Military vehicles
* 1912
Lancia 1Z (light truck)
* 1912
Lancia 1ZM (armoured car)
* 1938
Lancia 3Ro (truck)
* 1942 Lancia Esaro (truck)
* 1942
Lancia Lince (armoured car)
* 1948 Lancia Esatau 6RoM (truck)
* 1951 Lancia CL51 (Z 20) (troop transporter)
* 1954 Lancia TL51 (Z 30) (truck)
* 1960 Lancia 506 (truck)
* 1975 Lancia ACL 75 (6611 M) (truck)
* 1990 Lancia ACL 90 (truck, later
Iveco) (truck)
Tractor
* 1947 Lancia 3Ro (based on Fiat)
Other
* 2007
Lancia Bike
* 2009
Lancia di Lancia speedboat
Engines
*
Lancia Flat-4 engine
*
Lancia V4 engine
*
Lancia V6 engine
* Lancia V8 engine
*
Lancia Tipo 4
The Lancia Tipo 4 was an Italian aircraft engine constructed by Lancia in the mid-1910s.
History
This water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine was built in 1916 and had a 50-degree angle between the cylinder banks. The Tipo 4 had a bore and a stro ...
The company has also made industrial engines.
Logo
LogoLancia1907.jpg, Lancia (1907)
LogoLancia1911.jpg, Lancia (1911)
LogoLancia1929.jpg, Lancia (1929)
LogoLancia1957.jpg, Lancia (1957)
LogoLancia1974.jpg, Lancia (1974)
Lancia logo.jpg, Lancia (2000)
Lancia company logo.png, Lancia (2007)
Media and sponsorship
In 2009, the British motoring television show ''
Top Gear'' suggested that Lancia had more 'great' models than any other car company. The presenters went on to test the
Gamma Coupé,
Fulvia Coupé,
Aprilia,
Montecarlo,
Beta Coupé,
HPE,
Stratos
Stratos may refer to:
People As surname
*Andreas Stratos (1905–1981), Greek politician and historian
*Demetrio Stratos (1945–1979), Italian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music researcher
* Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), Greek politici ...
,
037,
Delta Integrale Evo II and
Thema 8.32. They also stated during their review that Lancia made the best-looking cars, even though they are unreliable.
Lancia sponsored the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
for five years, ending in 2012, with the
Lancia Thema used to transport stars to the festival.
Lancia was sponsor of the ninth and eleventh World Summits of
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...
Laureates.
See also
*
List of automobile manufacturers
This is a list of notable automobile manufacturers with articles on Wikipedia by country. It includes companies that are in business as well as defunct manufacturers. Only companies that have articles here are included.
A
Algeria
* SNVI
...
*
List of Formula One constructors
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of rules establ ...
*
List of Italian companies
*
List of World Rally Championship Constructors' Champions
*
Martini Racing
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Lancia models production
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Turin motor companies
Defunct bus manufacturers
Defunct truck manufacturers
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Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1906
Italian companies established in 1906
Italian brands
Italian auto racing teams
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