Unveiled on the sidelines of Milan Design Week, this compact sports car foreshadows the three future models, all electric, which will be put on the market by 2028 by this manufacturer founded in 1906 in Turin by entrepreneur and driver Vincenzo Lancia.

"It will be a big challenge to relaunch the brand" in a high-end segment in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, "but we are confident because there are many Lancia enthusiasts in the world, including young people," Lancia director Luca Napolitano told AFP.

Lancia currently sells only one model, its small Ypsilon made in Poland, and only in Italy, where it has risen in 2022 to second place in sales by dethroning the Fiat 500, with 40,991 units sold.

Passed in 1969 under the control of Fiat, Lancia had seen its sales collapse in the 1990s.

A nod to Lancia's prestigious past, the concept car recalls the rounded shapes of the legendary Aurelia sedan of the 50s and the bluish green of the luxurious Flaminia of the 60s, revisited in a decidedly more modern and simpler style.

Lancia also plays on the nostalgic fiber by taking inspiration from its sports Stratos, the queen of rallies in the 1970s, by taking up its emblematic round taillights.

The rear window of the concept car is reminiscent of the Lancia of the 70s, the HPE Beta coupe, with its Venetian blinds and simple lines. A circular roof offers panoramic views.

Conquering Europe

An all-new top-of-the-range Ypsilon will arrive on the market in 2024, with a length of about four meters, in hybrid and electric versions, larger and more modern than the current city car especially popular with women.

In addition to Italy, it will be marketed, from summer 2024, in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.

A "flagship" will follow in 2026 in 100% electric version. Called Gamma, this crossover halfway between sedan and SUV, with a fluid silhouette, will be the flagship model of the range, with a range of more than 700 km and rechargeable in less than ten minutes.

Another electric car, a compact sports car called "Delta" like its illustrious ancestor of the 1980s, is scheduled for 2028.

Many Lancia fans around the world feared its demise after the 2021 merger between its parent company Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot-Citroën, which gave birth to the Stellantis group.

But its boss, Carlos Tavares, decided to resurrect the small brand within the premium segment, alongside Alfa Romeo and DS. Stellantis' Head of Design for Europe, Jean-Pierre Ploué, was dispatched to Turin.

"I'm just the conductor. The Lancia is 100% Italian design, made by Italian teams," the French designer told AFP.

German competition

A first attempt at revival failed in the 2010s, after the merger between Fiat and the American Chrysler which had seen Lancia affix its label on models inspired by the American brand.

In the process, Lancia had to gradually withdraw from its European markets between 2014 and 2017. And a return seems fraught with pitfalls.

"The competition is very strong since Mercedes, Audi and BMW dominate the premium segment in Europe with a market share of about 70%," said Felipe Munoz, an analyst at Jato Dynamics.

"When you leave the European market, it's very difficult to regain customer trust, especially in the high-end market," he warns.

But Lancia promises pure emotions to its enthusiasts.

Marcello Mastroianni's favourite car, the Lancia symbolises "the Dolce Vita, art, culture, cinema, design, Italy's areas of excellence," says Napolitano.

© 2023 AFP