Lancia Should Be FCA's i-Brand

"Autoeccentric" (autoeccentric) 04/30/2016 at 10:14 • Filed to: Lancia, FCA, Fiat, Chrysler, Autoeccentric

1

13

A couple of years ago AutoBlog sent out the call for writers of prose. I got about seventy percent of the way through an application piece, but, like quite a lot of things I’ve wanted to do, I backed out thinking I wouldn’t be good enough.

Well, a couple of years on and I thought I’d let you in on my thinking at the time, and why I think it still stands. In fact, this is an outright call to FCA to do the right thing, and revive its fallen genius cousin from bland obscurity

So, the brief for the application was to prepare at least one press release that would be suitable for AutoBlog’s style and presentation.

I prepared two:

In a small, non-descript building off to the side of a major Fiat operations hub it was announced, today, that Lancia, after a long and slow illness, would finally be winding up its operations. All new development would be handed over to Chrysler in a move to allow the brand a bigger foorprint in the European market.

Sergio Marchionne, head of Fiat S.p.A., made the announcement to a small, mostly Italian press conference. He assured jobs within the factories that produce the current Lancia range are safe due to a ‘healthy Chrysler market share in both the US and Canada’.

Rumours that Volkwagen were interested in buying what Top Gear UK named as the greatest Car manufacturer Of All Time appear to have come to nowt. Several online commentators have suggested that room could not be found at already full Volkwagen with Audi bosses worried over a potential Italian in-empire rival.

There is no doubt that almost all areas of the motoring press will provide their own special eulogies. For now, here is a selection of our own favourite online video moments.

And:

Volkswagen announced today that it had secured the rights and ownership to the troubled Lancia brand. Speculation unto the future of the ammaciated name (previously under the Fiat parasole) ended with the words of VW grosse Kase Ferdinand Piech, ‘we will start a new era for Lancia. One that stands with what the Lancia name has always meant to have stood for, one of luxury, performance and above all innovation’.

No concept images have been shown by the Motoring Empire but speculation centres around two major strands of thinking: An innovation based brand pushing the technology envelope or a Maserati rival placed somewhere in between Porsche and Bentley. The key to the answer lies in the hands of whomever assumes overall control of the brand.

Expect VW to produce an answer to the ‘mother-brand’ question and the first of many concepts within the next six months.

Now, at the time I was writing VW were rumoured to be circling Lancia. For the record I thought at the time that this made no sense, and for now, it seems, I’ve been proven right.

Lancia, as most of you know, has been banished to one of the far wings of the Italian owned motoring mansion while Fiat and Chrysler forge its signature over thier own homework hoping nobody will notice.

I don’t blame FCA for this. I mean what the hell do you do with a brand that has a pedigree to rival both Alfa-Romeo and Maserati? Poor Lancia is stuck in an overcrowded room full of underachievers who all need desperate attention.

Here’s the thing, though; Alfa are a perfect fit for an Audi/BMW/Jag rival and Maserati should stop buggering about and become a full blown Bentley rival. They’ve both got the pedigree and image to do it.

So where does that leave Lancia?

Over to Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson:

From about three minutes in:

- First car company to sell a car with a monocoque chassis

- First to offer a five-speed gearbox.

- First to make an engine featuring both turbo and supercharging.

- First to sell a car with a V6

- First to sell a car with an automatic boot spoiler.

This is a manufacturer born to be ambitious amd groundbreaking.

BMW spent the GDP of a midsized sovereign nation developing the ‘i’brand, and FCA has one ready to go, sat in a room mumbling to itself about that time it won the World Rally Championship *ten* times.

Think about it: an all electric monster of a rally car whistling at full chat pushing torque to individual wheels, and making all that grip count.

Formula-E? Perfect fit, and helpfully for FCA, nowhere near as expensive as another of its former ends, F1.

So c’mon Oppo, join the fight and support Lancia’s revival.

And to you, the big mozzarella’s of FCA, get it together and make this happen.

You owe it to Lancia.

Chinny Raccoon > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 10:40

2

I’ve always thought the 4C could be a potential base for a New Stratos. I wouldn’t complain if it was electric.

Autoeccentric > Chinny Raccoon 04/30/2016 at 10:42

1

Yes! See, it absolutely makes sense.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 10:42

1

Bring back the Stratos!

This thing is just crying for a 488's V8.

coqui70 > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 10:46

1

So here’s the niche where they fit: FCA needs a quality, safety and engineering leader. Think of a foil to Volvo and Audi, and a possible owner of the quirky mantle vacated by SAAB. Throw in a bit of near-luxury and you got it:

Autoeccentric > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 04/30/2016 at 10:50

1

As much as I whole heartedly approve of your clearly excellent thought, I really think this is the exact problem FCA have. Why would you stick a 488 engine in a Stratos when you already have the 488?

Autoeccentric > coqui70 04/30/2016 at 10:52

0

Yep.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 11:11

1

Viva Lancia!!

You’re 100% right, Lancia has it in its identity to be innovative, so tney should return as such, instead of as rebadged chryslers.

Also a Lancia electric city car would totally work, seeing their best selling model was a the Ypsilon for a long time.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 11:15

1

Yeah. Might trod on the toes of its big brother. 4c might make a good base depending on how sales of that go.

Montalvo > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 11:53

0

Becuase the Stratos beats the living hell out of the 488 in the looks department. Also Ferrari is a douche canoe for going after the kit based on the 430. I’d rather have Lancia be able to pull from their parts bin like Maserati.

Wheelerguy > Autoeccentric 04/30/2016 at 12:08

2

I kinda see Lancia as this less-is-more alternative to a BMW: slightly less opulent, but built a little tougher and would stand a little more abuse, while keeing an elegant, exotic retro-modern style language.

But...

The first step to make Lancia live again is for Lancia to “die”. Announce that Lancia, as a marque, as it is today, is dead, and will truly cease to exist, as a front while a splinter group of engineers and WRC2 team, fueled by money Ferrari can spare and Martini sponsorship, hack up some old Dodge Darts in a locked-down spot away from HQ.

The second step is to develop a New Delta, both race and road cars, from those Darts, which is essentially a retro-modern Delta Integrale, and test out unbadged versions during 2017 while not entering WRC yet. I’m using Haas F1’s model of holding out for a year to fine-tune everything and be just a bit more ready come 2018. This has to go beyond ‘17 Ford GT-level of secrecy, because you’re not just bringing back Lancia in WRC, you’ll be relaunching the marque.

Then just before Monte Carlo, Lancia opens a YouTube account and live-streams a run with the New Delta HF and New Delta Integrale WRC from some spot in Sardegna to the plinth set near Martini’s HQ.

I have more, but my stomach is acting funny, I’m shaking, and am sleepy. I’ll make a separate Oppo post after some time.

Autoeccentric > Wheelerguy 04/30/2016 at 12:14

0

A shock reveal of that kinda thing would make *my* tummy feel funny.

Autoeccentric > Montalvo 04/30/2016 at 17:55

0

Heh, heh.

Douche canoe.

Andraz3d > Autoeccentric 05/01/2016 at 15:36

1

As an owner of Lancia Thesis , I would support Lancia’s comeback, but with all the brand destruction happening in the last 20 years, we in EU should consider happy that we sometimes get a chance to see one on the roads.