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Lancia was not gone, but it had become very small. In any case, the brand had been off the shelves in Europe since 2017. Only in Italy was the Ypsilon still sold as the only model. Parent company Stellantis is now putting Lancia back on the map with the new Ypsilon. Italy will get it first; in the second quarter of 2024, our country will be one of the first outside Italy, along with Belgium.

Lancia Ypsilon homey interior

“With the new Ypsilon, the first car of Lancia’s new era, we are launching the brand anew, starting in Italy. The design is inspired by the brand’s glorious past, which we have reinterpreted in a modern way. The model is the ultimate expression of comfort and design, characterized by leading technology and connectivity, but always in perfect Lancia style. We achieved this result in part through collaboration with interior designer Cassina, who, together with our designers in Turin, designed a real living room inspired by the hospitality of Italian furnished homes,” said Luca Napolitano, CEO of Lancia at the unveiling.

Limited version

The unveiled version is a limited edition, of which there will be 1,906 (1906 is the year Lancia was founded) and this special edition is called Lancia Ypsilon Edizione Limitata Cassina. The blue color of the exterior and interior is specific. The materials used were created in consultation with Cassina.

Coming to coffee

Of particular note is the “coffee table” in the front center at the bottom of the dashboard. It has a wireless cell phone charging station and you can place your coffee on it. Only then don’t go riding, because you can’t put the cups anywhere. It is just a playful and homey element in the interior.

Interactive

So is the dashboard with angular shapes and large wide displays. New is a fully interactive system that allows you to visualize numerous functions by touch and by voice. That’s SALA, an abbreviation for Sound Air Light Augmentation. The Ypsilon offers a driving range, electric, of 403 km and the electric motor delivers 115 kW 156 hp.

Heroic history

As a pure Italian brand, Lancia has experienced heroic moments. Pages could be filled with them, but we’ll limit ourselves to highlights. Wonderful technical inventions can be attributed to Lancia, such as a V4 engine with a block angle of only 15 degrees. That appeared as early as 1920, while Volkswagen did not come out with narrow and compact VR5 and VR6 engines with a tight angle between the cylinder banks until the 1990s. Lancia was the first to serialize V4 and V6 engines anyway.

Iconic models of Lancia

Wonderful creations have appeared from the Lancia kitchen with eloquent names. Models like the Flavia, Fulvia and Flaminia, those who are a little at home in the history of Italian brands probably know them. Gracefully shaped, luxuriously furnished and with a sporty touch, they enticed many buyers, who had to be somewhat wealthy. Because Lancia was not cheap.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Lancia scored with models such as the Beta and the Gamma. These four-door coupes were also regularly seen driving in our country. The Lancia Monte Carlo is also such an iconic car, a 2+2 coupe based on the Beta. The Lancia Thema took over from the Beta and Gamma some years later.

Lancia and Greek alphabet

More models bore the name of a letter from the Greek alphabet, such as the Lancia Delta, with which the brand was also ruthlessly successful in the World Rally Championship. Many titles have been won with the all-wheel-drive Delta HF Integrale. With which the brand had a worthy successor to the Lancia Stratos that strung together podium finishes in international rallying in the 1970s. That Stratos was also designed specifically for it by Marcello Gandini, then chief designer at Bertone.

Rise, fall and return of Lancia Ypsilon

In the compact segment, Lancia has caused a furor in recent decades with the Ypsilon, the first generation of which appeared in 1996. You could then choose from a laundry list of colors, more than 100, and if you put the cars in all those color variations next to each other you got a pallet like in the colored pencil boxes from Swiss Caran d’Ache, with the image of the Matterhorn on the lid. Gorgeous to look at, just like the interior of that Ypsilon. For certainly the more expensive versions were beautifully finished with Alcantara upholstery, which at the time was truly unique for a compact car.

Fully electric

With the re-entry of the Ypsilon, now fully electric, it has come full circle. Or rather, the brand is picking up where it left off several years ago in our country. The clear nod to values of the past shows that Lancia wants to maintain its stature and prestige but in the electric segment. Some forms are borrowed from historic models, and this is especially true of the interior. The decoration is also of the familiar high level.

Synergy with other Stellantis models

Technically, the new Lancia Ypsilon shares platform and powertrain with other electric models in the Stellantis family, such as the Peugeot e-208 and the Opel Corsa Electric. Logical because by sharing components you save development costs and that makes it possible to keep electric cars affordable and marketable.

In 2026 comes a second, larger electric model, the Lancia Gamma, reviving another old name. The Lancia Delta will follow in 2028, also electric.