VeloceToday Best of Show: IED Abarth: a very nice exercise of the Istituto Europeo of Design, based in Turin.
Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
A few bright spots at Geneva, but overall the cars are depressingly unnattractive, fat, frumpy. And what can we say of the Fiat Lancia Flavia Chrysler? We’ll let our readers voice their opinions; be sure to scroll down to see what Fiat/Chrysler has in store for us. [Ed.]
Touring Tornante: Touring Superleggera with a German Gumpert 4 liters 8 cylinder engine and 700 bhp.
Alfa Romeo 4 C: updated version of the Alfa 33 Stradale with central 4 cylinder 250 bhp engine. It will be probably soon produced in a limited number.
Peugeot 508 E-HdI.
Peugeot 3008 Hybrid 4.
Citroen DS4, the second DS in the Citroen range.
Citroen Metropolis, an elegant luxury hybrid car produced in China.
Citroen C4 a spacious, modern and traditional car.
Lamborghini Aventador: a very light carbon car, successor of the Murcielago.
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, coupe version.
Bugatti Gran Sport, open version.
Pagani Huayra, the heir of the Zonda after 13 years of success, with a turbo V12 of 6 liters and 700 bhp.
Touring Bentley Flying Star: a revised version of the Bentley by Touring Superleggera.
Renault Zoe Electric: The question is: where can we recharge these cars, but in our garages?
Renault Rspace, a future view of the Espace.
Renault Dezir, another electric concept car.
Renault Capture, a concept car, preview of the future.
Maserati Gran Cabrio sport: a new even more sporty version of the GranCabrio.
Uninspiring soccer-mom De Tomaso.
Fiat 500 coupe by Zagato: a sporty version of the 500 with the original Zagato bubble roof.
Lancia Thema: a derivative of the Chrysler 300 for sale in October. Nothing to do with the old Lancia Thema of the 80s.
Lancia Voyager: it is a Chrysler Voyager with minor changes.
Lancia Flavia cabriolet; the open version of the Flavia.
Lancia Flavia: the Chrysler 200 with a new historic Italian name: still a concept car, but with production expected in 2012.
Lancia Ypsilon; the four door restyled version of the luxury small car of the Fiat group.
Fiat Freemont: an Italian version of the Dodge Journey produced in Mexico in the same plant where the American 500 is assembled.
Fiat Mephistopheles. A real car.
Yes, exactly as you say, cars are depressingly unnattractive, fat, and frumpy! With 65% of the U.S. population considered overweight, and many overweight people throughout the rest of the world, all I can figure is that subconsciously designers are drawing unattractive rounded frumpy lines!
Sooooo disappointed as a Lancisti. I guess this means I can get a Lancia now though, just buy a Chrysler and purchase some badges over the internet and I’ll have a Lancia. Vincenzo is rolling over in his grave. Though to be honest, Lancia’s been a dead brand (re-badge factory) since Fiat bought them. Fiat really needs to take some pride in it’s history. They’re burning $Billions of brand value.
I just watched the new commerical for the THEMA posted on ITALIASPEED. I don’t know how good the car is but after the ad I wanted to buy a dozen!
I hope FIAT builds cars worthy of their sales department.
Auto Italia (issue180) featured an article on a Lancia design. There are stunning sketches of a modern Lancia. It must be very frustrating for the two talented designers to work where their talent is wasted by badge engineering managment. A Chrysler 200 is no Lancia, no matter what the badge says.
I’m so glad I moved on from Lancias about 15 years ago. I owned most of the models I desired – including an Aprilia, Fulvia HF, Flaminia Zagato and a Stratos. The current range is a travesty of the name – you wonder what they think they will achieve by re-badging a bunch of second rate cars like this. Sure, they might sell a handful to a few gullible punters, but they are destroying one of the great, innovative names in motoring.
@ Matthew Boyer: it’s not really accurate to call Lancia a dead, badge-engineered marque since the Fiat purchase. The Beta and Gamma weren’t based on any Fiat, the Stratos was engineered and built post-Fiat, as was the Delta Integrale.
With the Chryaler/Lancia marriage, it was really inevitable that they’d begin with badge engineering, given the economies involved. The real question is, will Lancia continue be badge engineering only, moving forward? In other words, is this just a stop-gap or is it a template? And I think we won’t have that answer for a while.
Here in South Africa we haven’t been able to buy Lancias for the last 15 years or so because of our government’s stupid ban on left-hand drive cars. I’m not keen on the idea of sticking Lancia badges on Chryslers but I guess the important thing is just to keep the name alive. When you look at what Fiat has done for Maserati and Alfa maybe there’s hope yet for Lancia.
But, boy, isn’t that De Tomaso just horrible! What were you thinking, guys?
I had a Fulvia, pretty little car, my wife (at the time , wrote it off) , this has got to be the ugliest car I’ve ever seen. Is there no originality any more ?
guess I keep driving our fulvia’s, elans and appia’s!! Lancia is dead and will be for a long time to come if these idiots continue!!
not just Lancia though, look at the bland and generic models Lotus will be introducing soon.
very few designs are worth looking at for more than a few seconds and will be forgotten even sooner.
cherish the real cars of the fifties and sixties and even better, drive them as much as you can!!!
Robin le Roy
guess I keep driving our fulvia’s, elans and appia’s!! Lancia is dead and will be for a long time to come if these idiots continue!!
not just Lancia though, look at the bland and generic models Lotus will be introducing soon.
very few designs are worth looking at for more than a few seconds and will be forgotten even sooner.
cherish the real cars of the fifties and sixties and even better, drive them as much as you can!!!
The displayed cars at Geneva 2011 is the bankrupcy declare of Lancia !!! Thanks to Fiat !!! I am so happy to have my Lancia Thesis` and my Delta Integrales, the last real ones for a Lancisti !!!
All I could see was the Alfa… Did I miss something? You mean those other pieces of metals on wheels? Nope, didn’t notice them. I thought I saw the illustrious name Lancia, but I think it was really a Europeanized Chrysler.
What a shame. Fiat is sitting on a goldmine. It could easily bring back Lancia to its heyday as it is slowly doing with Alfa, after trying to kill both brands. At least, one is peeking its head from the sand. Hopefully, in a few year Lancia will also be allowed to live. Glad to see I didn’t miss much.
@Wieland shwarzkopf
Being a real Lancia doesn’t matter, Thesis is not a good looking car.
Distinctive is the kindest word for it; interior quality is very attractive, exterior styling – non attraente. Thema is stately, well proportioned, with a style quotient far surpassing Thesis. Lancia was withering away on the vine prior to Lancia/Chrysler’s crossbranding. This marriage of convenience will keep Lancia alive long enough for Lorenzo Ramaciotti to work some Italian magic. 🙂