The Lancia Thema is hardly a Lancia in the traditional sense, but somehow its generic Italian sport sedan credentials add up to something very appealing. Take a competent FWD sedan chassis developed with the deep pockets of Fiat, drop in a venerable 3.0L Busso V6 from Alfa Romeo, and tack on some Lancia badges and you have the Lancia Thema V6.
Lancia also offered the Thema in 8.32 form with a 2.9L Ferrari V8, so why bother with the V6? Head to Youtube to find out, or just take our word for it: the Busso V6 sounds better than the detuned Ferrari V8. Add to that the serviceability of the Alfa power plant compared to the Ferrari unit, the major price discount, and the sleeper appeal, and the case for the Thema V6 is strong.
We're going to overlook the most half-hearted ad that we've come across in a while to feature this Lancia 2000 Berlina because these are cool, rare, and deserve to stay on the road. Seriously though, we can't imagine listing a vehicle for sale and offering to ship to another country with a description so sparse and flip phone photos.
These cars were interesting in that they offered Bosch D-type electronic fuel-injection as an option that was coupled with the optional 5-speed transmission. Selecting the fuel-injection option got you 123bhp, which was competitive for a 2.0L engine in this era. Mechanically, the layout was a continuation of the Flavia layout, utilizing a boxer engine with front-wheel drive.
We're kicking off a new recurring post here at CICFS: Forbidden Fruit Fridays. These shorter posts will feature cars unavailable in the United States - especially those that would make Europeans shake their head in disapproval. The grass is not always greener on the other side, after all. To kick off this feature, we've selected a Lancia Dedra Station wagon. These are nothing to lust after in their native Italy, but the novelty of a manual station wagon Lancia is too strong for an American website such as CICFS to ignore!
The Dedra sits on the Fiat Type Three platform shared with the Alfa Romeo 155 and Fiat Tempra. From the looks of the cam covers, the 16V version's 102hp 16V engine is an evolution of the classic Fiat Lampredi twin cam engine. And, unlike in the BMW e30 wagon, lifting the rear hatch gains you access to the entire load floor - no taillights in the way here.
Yesterday we took a look at Lancia Flaminia to make a case for how to spend $40,000 on a Lancia. Today's 16V-swapped Lancia HF Integrale is how we imagine a lot more folks would approach this hypothetical exercise. There's a lot to like here too - can we change our response?
Let's get into some armchair engineering to understand why someone would go through the trouble of swapping in a new powertrain to increase peak horsepower by 15hp. When a waste gate spring would very likely bring about a similar result, why go through the trouble of swapping in the 16v mill? To us, it looks like most of the benefit is in the top end. The 8V turbocharger can't overcome restriction as well past 5300RPM, whereas the 16V breathes better, allowing it to increase torque by 4% at 5500RPM compared to the 8V at 5300RPM. We've never driven either, so we're curious to know if the difference is noticeable.
Say you've got $40k desire to own and drive a Lancia. That buys a lot of Fulvia Coupe, not to mention 4-5 Fulvia Berlinas. It's also enough to get you into the Delta HF Integrale scene - even a later 16V car if we are not mistaken. And if you want something with direct ties to one of the most impressive innovations in powertrain engineering in the 1900s? You could find a very decent example of a Flaminia.
The Aurelia introduced the world to the V6 engine, and the Flaminia brought the technology into the next decade. The sliding pillar suspension found in the Aurelia was replaced with a double wishbone setup, while the braking system was upgraded to discs front and rear. And, for those who love idiosyncratic layouts, the rear discs were mounted on the rear-mounted transaxle, just like the drums in the Aurelia.
Lancia dabbled in Greek letter naming of its vehicles at the turn of the century, making its way through a succession of Greek letters before moving on to the Roman roads naming convention. Among our favorite of the old Greek models was the Lambda, a 70mph 1920s unitary body feat of design and engineering. The Roman road names began (we believe) with the Astura, and continued through the end of Fulvia production.
The reintroduction of Greek letters was accompanied by a Fiat takeover and a new lust, by those responsible for the corporate coffers at least, to introduce scaled production and profitability. Lancia vehicles had, to this point, been the dreams of engineers, and sold with high prices to compensate for low production. With Fiat at the helm, the Beta series was introduced with lofty production targets and reduced development spending; understandably, many Lancia engineers walked out during this transition.
The Flavia coupe benefits from a healthy does of Pininfarina cross-pollination, especially in the roofline and its kink at the base of the c-pillar. In photographs, the Flavia coupe could easily be mistaken for a much larger touring car, when in reality, it has much more in common with an Alfa Romeo GTV.
The long, tall hood belies the fact that it houses an aluminum boxer 4-cylinder engine and a front wheel drive transmission, both of which barely protrude above the plane of the front bumper. With some rowing of the 4-speed manual gearbox, the 91hp mill should prove to be more than enough to move the 2550lb coupe down the road.
Fiat's takeover of Lancia preceded their takeover of Alfa Romeo by around 17 years, and while industrial giant Fiat would seem like a suitable companion to the smaller Italian brands, what resulted in both cases was an unfortunate dilution of each brand's distinctive products. Odd then, that the Fiat-Chrysler merger has been so successful, whereas Lancia has been driven into the ground with Alfa Romeo's demise looking more and more certain.
The Delta came from the second wave of Fiat-spiked Lancia products, and the Delta S4 came from a tube steel factory, seeing as it shared nothing but its silhouette with the Deltas scattered about European roadways. Itself an evolution of the WRC Group B Lancia 037, the Delta S4 was powered by a mid-ship turbocharged, supercharged and intercooled 1.8L 4-cylinder. The combination was good for 5 wins in its 12 race entries, but not good enough for a season victory in its sole years of competition, 1985 and 1986. US rally fans would have been fortunate to witness the Delta S4's 1986 victory in the Olympus Rally in Washington state.
These sleek Lancia Gamma Coupes never sold in astounding figures, amounting to no more than 7,000 sales over their eight-year production run. On the one hand, it begs the question of why a manufacturer would bother with the engineering of a bespoke model when the market projections are so low (assuming that they predicted the market size accurately). On the other hand, we know that there exist benefits to the automakers outside of profits in a low-volume testbed like a flagship model.
Compared to past - and our favorite - Lancia flagships, the Gamma makes use of entirely new technologies. In place of a V6, we see a flat four, and in place of a rear-mounted transaxle, we see a front-mounted transaxle driving the front wheels. The result of this updated configuration is seen in the styling, which maintains a really low hood line coupled with a steep windshield rake. Ahead of its time in the 70s, it ushered in the best of 80s grand touring design.
This Lancia Gamma is one of 6790 coupes built. It was sold new in Spain. Finished in white with a contrasting blue/beige interior, the car was repainted a year ago and looks very nice. The undercarriage is rust free. The interior is in perfect original condition. Engine is believed to be original to the car. It is in great running condition with a recent tune-up and major service being done. The car is a strong driver on the road with over $15,000 in recent work performed over the last 2 years. The car is running on new tires. New exhaust pipe. This Lancia Gamma Pininfarina is ready to have some fun, rare and highly collectible and very hard to find in the US.
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Plenty of photos are provided to help assess the condition of this example. The underside appears to be especially clean, with the assurance from the seller that the undercarriage is rust free. Does rust exist elsewhere though? The engine was removed for a major service - what that entails, the seller does not specify, but it's a good sign at least. This could end up being a headache to find parts for, so the better the documentation and current condition, the more positive the ownership experience should turn out to be.
Wow, the price on this thing. The price of rarity, maybe? We can definitely see tucking one of these away with a Ferrari 400i and a Fiat 130 Coupe, and both of those run north of $30k, so at least it isn't price out of the range of its peers. And, where else are you going to find one this clean for sale? Unless you're really seeking the fastback variant, this could be the one to buy.
Poor Lancia. From their position as technology leader of the Italian automotive market, they have sunken to peddlers of a rebadged Fiat 500 in Italy only. Lancia, the inventor of the V6, relegated to a mere badge on a Fiat.
We have it on good authority that the Aurelia B24S Spider drives more like a modern car than it has any right to, considering its date of manufacture. Then again, when you dig into the unorthodox engineering and attention to detail that went into every single component on Lancias of this era, it stands to reason that these cars would drive like modern vehicles. Forget V12 Ferraris, Alfas, and Lamborghinis; if you want the pinnacle of Italian engineering, only a Lancia will do.
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Year: 1955 Model: Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America Engine: 2.5L V6 Transmission: 4-speed manual Mileage: 52,126 mi Price: $1,295,000 Location: San Diego, CA
Year 1955 Make Lancia Model B24S Type Spider America Chassis No ★B24S-1170★ Pinin Farina Job No 15289 Pinin Farina Scocca No S 00172 Exterior Color Dark Blue Interior Color Tobacco Engine No MOT. B24 No 1229 Engine Casting Date May 14th, 1955 Intake Manifold No B24 1229 Transaxle No 398 Transaxle Type Tipo B20S Transaxle Casting Date May 5th, 1955 Final Drive Ratio 11 x 47 (4.27:1) Front Suspension No 164 Front Suspension Type Tipo B24S Front Axle No 172 Steering Box No 399 Carburetor Weber 40DCZ 5 (s/n 3622) Tail Light Bezel Date Code February 7th, 1953 Tail Light Lenz Date Code March 20th, 1954 Windscreen Date Code March 11th, 1955 Assembly Started October 3rd, 1955 Assembly Finished October 23rd, 1955 First Tested October 24th, 1955 Accepted for delivery October 24th, 1955 UK Registration (1982) "WYA 8" UK Registration "212 UYL" Florida Registration "ADG 39A" Mileage 52,122 Miles
Chassis No ★B24S-1170★ This particular B24S Spider America was a regular production example, one of 240 total examples completed and one of 181 that were left-hand-drive configured. It had two very unique configuration features that set it far apart from the other examples built. This vehicle was assembled as a normal Italian, domestic-market vehicle which featured both Italian lighting and the distinct open glove box without locking door. All gauges and indicators were however in English with the speedometer calibrated in miles at the request of the original ordering owner, an American Air Force officer stationed in Rome.
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Sharing the DeDion tube rear suspension with the 4th series B20, the Spiders located their transaxle in the rear of the car, mounting the rear brake drums in an inboard configuration. Front suspension is of the sliding pillar design, a concept pioneered by Lancia in 1922 with their Lambda offering. And, the V6 is the 2451cc B20 series 4 variant of the famed Lancia V6 line, sporting an under-square bore and stroke and special, sadly detuned cam for American consumption.
This example was delivered to an American Air Force officer stationed in Rome in its original Grigio over black, but later changed over to midnight blue over a biscuit interior. Maybe interested parties could point that out for a discount? The rest of us, the interested but financially unequipped parties, can take solace knowing that, while these rare variants are priced in the stratosphere, there do exist Lancia models with the famed V6 and a more realistic price tag.
