Turin, Italy – One of the brands that will enjoy renewed investment in the Stellantis era is Lancia.
The Italian brand has produced some iconic products over the years, including the Delta Integrale and Stratos, but to say that it’s been marginalised in recent years would be an understatement.
Following the ghastly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) era that saw various Chrysler models rebadged as Lancias, the range has been whittled down to just one model in Italy, which is the Fiat 500-based Ypsilon.
But all of that is set to change in the coming years. Stellantis is keen to restore the brand to its former glory with exciting production introductions, including a new Delta. The brand is also considering re-entering the South African market once right-hand drive production commences.
At the weekend Lancia pulled the covers off the radical, and oddly-named, concept sports car called the Pu+Ra HPE, and it is our first glimpse at that future, even though it’s unlikely to ever reach production.
“Today Lancia presents Lancia Pu+Ra HPE, the brand vision for the next 10 years that takes the brand into the era of electric mobility and sums up our way of conceiving and experiencing the car,” said Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano. “Starting with the new Ypsilon, our cars of the future will be inspired by the Lancia Pu+Ra HPE.”
The concept car is battery-powered and envisions a range of over 700km between charges, with little more than 10 minutes of charging time.
The concept’s exterior design clearly pays some homage to the Stratos mid-engined sports car of the 1970s, and it will influence future Lancia models.
“The new Lancia concept car fully embodies the principles of the new design language of the brand, a pure and radical design language where the cars’ volumes are created from the intersection of elementary and iconic forms such as the circle and the triangle, combined with a few eclectic details,” Lancia said.
The carmaker also describes it as the first car to take inspiration from the world of furniture, thanks to a collaboration with upmarket furniture maker Cassina. The front seats, for instance, were inspired by the Maralunga armchairs that Vico Magistretti designed for Cassina. Furthermore, round table-inspired geometric forms in the centre console and dashboard add to the cozy feeling.
Lancia was aiming to create a typically Italian “home feeling” experience in the concept car’s cabin, which certainly looks inviting in our book.
But the Pu+Ra HPE is more than just a design showcase, it also previews some smart new technologies that will make their way into future Lancia models.
A highlight among these is the Sala (Sound Air Light Augmentation) virtual interface, which will feature on the next-generation Ypsilon hatchback. Thanks to this, Lancia will become the first Stellantis brand to feature the upcoming Chameleon and Tailored Predictive Experience (Tape) technologies, which essentially centralise the entertainment, climate and lighting functions to allow owners to adapt the interior environment at the touch of a button or by voice control.
At this stage Lancia isn’t telling us how fast or powerful the Pu+Ra HPE is, but it does signal the company’s intention to become all-electric from 2028 onwards.
The new Ypsilon is set to arrive in 2024, offering hybrid and electric variants, but this will be the last model available with an ICE powertrain. The reincarnated Delta arrives in 2028 featuring an electric-only powertrain, and this is the one we’re most looking forward to.