Happy 119th, Lancia
If there's one car company that falls under the "wow, they're still making those?" category, it would be Lancia. The Italian automaker has swung wildly from barely breathing to bankruptcy for over a century now, and it's celebrating its 119th anniversary this year. A bit of an odd milestone to celebrate, but better to host its birthday every year because it can, quite literally, go at any moment.
That aside, Lancia has also made some of the most iconic cars ever made. At the same time, it has cemented itself by being the most successful rally manufacturer, so there's no doubt that Lancia will ever be forgotten.
Lancia
The Early Years
Lancia was founded in 1906 by its namesake, Vincenzo Lancia, and Claudio Fogolin and rolled out their first car, the Tipo 51, that same year. Those were then followed up by the Theta and the Lambda, the latter being the world's first car to have a monocoque chassis.
Even then, Lancia was strapped for cash, and its exploits in Formula One, while successful, didn't make people flock to its showrooms. Oh, and here's a fun fact: the remnants of the Lancia Formula One were lapped up by Scuderia Ferrari.
Throughout the '50s and '60s, Lancia continued to build innovative luxury cars. There were the sleek Aurelia and the elegant Flaminia. The latter had the odd quirk that saw four rear windshield wipers with a pair inside and another one for the outside. Also, those cars featured independent suspension in an era where live axles were the norm.
Let's not forget the Fulvia, one of the world's first front-wheel drive cars, which marked the beginning of Lancia's successes in rallying. It was painfully expensive, though, as the zippy little 1.3-liter coupe cost even more than a straight-six Jaguar E-Type.
Lancia
Absorbed by Fiat
As much as its cars were innovative, no Lancia could really be described as profitable. If anything, the brand was hemorrhaging money, so it was Fiat to the rescue in 1969. Future secured with Italy's biggest automaker? Well, not quite.
Still, there was some semblance of stability. Lancia still rolled out great (but fragile) cars in the '70s. The Beta and Gamma range of cars were prime examples of that. They were lookers no matter the body style, but they also had the habit of oxidizing at the slightest suggestion of moisture. It reached a point where Lancia had to buy back rusty Betas, tarnishing its image. While it's commonly believed that it was due to Russian steel, the evidence is at best anecdotal.
It was hard times, but one particular bright spot was the Stratos. It won the second World Rally Championship manufacturer's title in 1974 (Renault-Alpine won the first one in 1973), clinging on to that crown until 1976. Italian rally ace Sandro Murani owes much of his success to the Stratos.
Lancia
Rally Success
Lancia was staging a comeback in the World Rally Championship. The result was the 037, a silhouette version of the Monte Carlo that, let's be honest, barely resembled the road-going model.
While Lancia and its partners were busy with that, they introduced the Delta in 1979 and it was even sold as a Saab as the Saab-Lancia 600. At the same time, Lancia was staging a comeback in the World Rally Championship. The result was the 037, a silhouette version of the Monte Carlo that, let's be honest, barely resembled the road-going model.
Despite lacking all-wheel drive, the 037 beat the Audi Quattro to take the manufacturer's title in 1983 as the Italian car proved more reliable than the German one. Let that sink in for a moment. Still, it was Audi's Hannu Mikkola that clinched the driver's title, but Lancia took the glory in the manufacturer's battle. The 037 was, and still is, the last two-wheel drive car to win in the WRC.
Lancia
Lancia, Peugeot, and Audi were at the forefront of the wild Group B era. Unfortunately, Lancia lost three team members during that time. In 1985, Attilio Bettega lost his life when he slammed into a tree. Then, in 1986, Herni Toivenen and co-driver Sergio Cresto were killed in a fiery crash with the Delta S4 during that year's Tour de Course. It was the deaths of Toivenen and Cresto that sealed the fate of Group B rallying.
Following that tragedy, Group A was formed to slow things down. There, Lancia redeemed itself and became one of the most successful teams in Group A's early days. The Delta Integrale gave the company six-straight manufacturer's titles, along with two driver's titles each for Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion.
Lancia
Tipo Quattro
Now, let's go back to the road cars, shall we? Lancia started the '80s like it did the '70s — bankrupt. To save itself, Lancia, along with Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Saab, entered into an agreement to co-develop a new midsize sedan in 1978, dubbed the Tipo Quattro program. That said, Alfa Romeo and Saab weren't exactly rolling in cash, either.
While Lancia and its partners were busy with that, they introduced the Delta in 1979, which was also sold as a Saab as the Saab-Lancia 600. Interestingly, Saab actually had some input on the Delta, namely the split-folding rear seats, the low liftover height of the hatch, and the heating and ventilation system.
The Tipo Quattro project came to fruition in 1984, first with the Lancia Thema and Saab 9000, followed by the Fiat Croma in late 1985, and, lastly, the Alfa Romeo 164 in 1987. The program was supposed to save all four automakers money. However, they all ended up developing the cars uniquely, effectively making the joint effort's bid to cut costs moot.
Still, at least we got pretty great cars from the Tipo Quattro family. In Lancia's case, the crown jewel was the Thema 8.32, powered by a 2.9-liter Quattrovalvole V8 based on the 308. The main difference was that the 308 used a flat-plane crank, while the Thema had a cross-plane crank. The Thema 8.32's V8 was detuned to 212 hp, and did we mention it was front-wheel drive, too?
Lancia
Survival mode
The '80s were relatively steady for Lancia, no doubt somewhat redeemed by its successes in motorsport. But by the '90s, the Fiat-ization of the brand would be the start of the decline. The Delta for the '90s would be based on the Fiat Tipo, and the same went for its sedan counterpart, the Dedra. Those cars didn't exactly fly off showroom floors
At least the midsize Kappa was developed by Lancia, and its platform would later be used by the Alfa Romeo 166. But then, in a bid to capture the growing minivan market in Europe (MPVs as they're called over there), Lancia plucked a model from Peugeot, Citroen, and Fiat to create the Zeta.
Lancia
Lancia tried to go bold in the 2000s, but things kept going downhill. Models like the Lybra, Thesis, Musa, and Phedra looked radical for their time, but ultimately were unsuccessful outside Italy.
By the 2010s, Lancia had resorted to rebadging Chrysler models, with the 300 becoming the Theta, the 200 becoming the Flavia, and the Town and Country becoming the Voyager. They did try to revive the Delta, but again, failed to make an impact. The only car that was really keeping them afloat was the Fiat Punto-based Ypsilon from 1995, which has since spanned four generations.
Lancia
Lancia Today
For the longest time, Lancias were sold only in Italy, though Stellantis is making an effort to bring back some of the magic. The all-new Ypsilon was introduced in 2024 and shares the same bones as the Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa. The redesigned Ypsilon also marks Lancia's reintroduction to some markets, namely Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Germany.
On top of that, the company has returned to rallying, although not yet in the top category of the World Rally Championship. Lancia introduced the Ypsilon Rally4 HF for Group Rally4 (mainly for privateers) and the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale for WRC2. The reborn Integrale will make its competition debut at the Monte Carlo Rally in 2026. Fingers crossed it's successful in reigniting the spark Lancia needs.
Lancia
Lancia
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