Words: Richard Dredge
Photography: Lancia
Lancia was once Italy’s answer to Mercedes-Benz. Quality was everything; certainly more than the whole making a profit aspect. The point is, Lancias were aimed at – and acquired by – discerning arbiters of taste. Under Fiat ownership from 1969, greater emphasis was placed on the bottom line, not least where it was located. Nevertheless, the 1970s and ’80s weren’t without their highlights (the Stratos, Group B weaponry, and a raft of characterful road cars such as the Gamma Coupé; that sort of thing).
However, Lancia was in the doldrums come the turn of the new millennium. The car pictured here could have changed that. The Lancia Fulvia concept (the use of the lowercase ‘c’ was theirs) had everything going for it, not least an adorning fanbase. It formed part of a masterplan: Lancia was set to come out fighting with a slew of new models that included a halo product (in essence a Stratos-like sports car), a new Delta integrale (again, the lack of capitals was intentional…), and this, the Fulvietta, as it was known internally.
The plan was to create a new coupé that evoked the original Fulvia, the new strain being created in-house within Lancia Centro Stile. The artistes responsible for the car’s striking outline included Flavio Manzoni (latter-day design chief at Ferrari) and Alberto Dilillo (now Fiat’s styling czar). While clearly inspired by Piero Castagnero’s dainty original from 1965, this wasn’t a slavish retro retread. Instead, it was a markedly more muscular machine with flared arches, a bevelled bonnet and pronounced beltline creases.
Underpinning the car was a Fiat Barchetta platform (itself based on a second-generation Punto), the prototype being equipped with a Lancia-branded 1.8-litre 16-valve four-cylinder VVT unit. With an alleged weight of just 990kg, and producing 140bhp at 6400rpm, it was reputedly good for 132mph with 0-62mph taking 8.6 seconds. The Barchetta basis represented an expedient way of slashing costs, to say nothing of development lead time. This was no mere show queen; the Fulvietta was developed in conjunction with Turinese consultancy Cecomp with series manufacture in mind.
Then came the big reveal. Lancia’s stand at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show was swamped by smitten onlookers. The motoring media was also sent into a tailspin, no prose being too purple when discussing the car. Lancia labelled it a ‘pilot model’ ahead of a mooted production run. Reports suggested around 2000 would be made per year, which seemed somewhat pessimistic. A dealer from London was so taken with the show car that he flew to Frankfurt and offered to order 200 on the spot.
Scroll forward to 2006 and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne promised that: ‘…a model will appear like the Fulvia. Stay tuned, you will be pleasantly surprised.’ We’re still waiting. So why didn’t it arrive in showrooms? Think back to 2003 and Fiat Automobiles was losing close on £2m a day. Marchionne was installed a year later to turn things around. Despite his comments to the contrary, the will to create a niche product clearly wasn’t there. Instead, The Fuliva – Fulvietta, call it what you will, remained only a concept, and Lancia continues to bump along the bottom.
Which concept car would you like us to talk about next? We would love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.
