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The Fiat Group has just released the first official photographs of the car with which it will relaunch the Lancia brand in the UK: this is the new Delta, the new upmarket, Italianate family hatchback headed to a showroom near you in early 2009.
This production-ready Lancia Delta will be shown at next month’s Geneva motor show. The Fiat Group is billing it as the cornerstone upon which the new Lancia brand will be built – a classic example of its unique combination of elegant styling with an i...Read the full article

220bhp petrol? If its the same one that powered my old Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo then I'm joining the Lancia queue today!

Of all the Italian manufacturers, the Lancia brand have a design that to me does not set the heart racing.

Having travelled extensively round mainland Europe, the brand is not often seen, but when one does appear they are grotesque in appearance.

This one however, looks a bit better. My only concern is to the long term viability of the brand in the UK. The reason they were withdrawn from the UK in the first place was they could not justify the small sales of both Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands. Alfa is only just finding it's feet again, and sales are not flooding out of the showrooms.

I wish Lancia luck, but I fear it will be short lived.

I find Lancia designs refreshing and trying to push the boundaries with a certain style. It's not going to be to everyone's taste, but see where Renault have got with the Megane (A varient I drive). Lancia could be successful, or it could be a painful experience. At least the Fiat group are now in profit again and should be able to afford the inevitable losses for a few years.

"They show a car that, at 4.5-metres long, will be slightly longer than a conventional C-segment hatchback and, with a 2700mm wheelbase, will offer the kind of cabin space you’d expect to find in the class above."

Strangly, my Megane Sport Tourer is also 4.5m long, but with a 14mm shorter wheelbase. I'd like to know figures for width and interior luggage space. The Lancia could get onto a list of prospective replacements - although for me the Renault 1.5 dCi is a perfect blend of performance and economy that the Lancia would need the 1.6 MJTD to compete.

Jon Hardcastle:

This one however, looks a bit better. My only concern is to the long term viability of the brand in the UK. The reason they were withdrawn from the UK in the first place was they could not justify the small sales of both Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands. Alfa is only just finding it's feet again, and sales are not flooding out of the showrooms.

I wish Lancia luck, but I fear it will be short lived.

I agree Jon. I like the look of the new Delta and to my eyes it shows the Italians still put style over function, even if the new car looks a bit MPVish (read Golf Plus!). Whatever it looks like, watch this car fail in the UK.

Bar Ferrari or Lambo, anything Italian that is bigger than a Punto normally fails in the UK. In the last 20yrs or so how many Focus, Mondeo, 5-Series class cars have you seen from Italy compared to their rivals. Exactly. I've seen more Kia C'eeds than Fiat Bravos and as for the Alfa 159 which has been around for 3yrs, it's not exactly flying out of showrooms while i've seen more Rolls Phantoms in the last 2yrs than i have Alfa 166s!

Italian cars that aren't supermini-sized or smaller are viewed with sceptism in the UK, and much of that is down to the woeful reliability of the dark old days and resale values. The fact that many rivals were/are so much better, especially dynamically, doesn't help. Look at the Bravo - a year old and bettered by almost every rival.

 

 

"The fact that many rivals were/are so much better, especially dynamically, doesn't help. Look at the Bravo - a year old and bettered by almost every rival."

 

That's not really true. The Focus is seen as dynamically flawed by the Italians. The on-the- limit tail-happiness so loved by the British journalists is seen as highly undesireble handling trait in a family hatch over here. Outside the UK the ageing 147 and the 159 are seen as top of their class for handling (the 147 is the only car in its class with double wishbone front suspension compared to its rivals cheaper macpherson set-up)  There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Bravo's handling either. Even the UK magazines which have said it's quite good- so it must be very good. The Bravo's handling, looks, interior, safety and engines are practically unbeatable at the price in my opinion.

I have to agree with Montgomery on this, my 159 is a lovely handling car (if a little heavy), which is being looked at for the mid life face lift.

The latest Bravo is to my mind the best car in the class overall. Handling is not the bee all and end all.

Being a Lancia fan, I'm keen to see the return of the Delta and will be going to  the Geneva motorshow to get a close look. Like previous posts, I am struggling to see how the British mindset can be changed enough for buyers to start seeing this car as a viable alternative to the German marques, top 10 fodder like the Focus and Astra, and the new breed of Korean cars.

Is a stylish long wheelbase Bravo enough? Lancia needs a spectacular launch for this car or at least pitch the car initially with some very attractive pricing or manufacturer backed servicing and owner support. Fiat managed to whip up hysteria around the 500, and Lancia needs something similar. How about Carla Bruni in a Delta ... she already does commercials for the new Musa and her new social status as Sarkozy's wife will get her even more in the press :) ... However I fear they will take a discrete low key approach, and maybe the car will disappear from our shores just like the Dedra did. I had three of those, so I guess I'll probably end up with a Delta at some point  :)

Okay, I will probably get drubbed for this one, but it looks like a slightly more stylised Seat Altea to me!

Having Lancia back will make for a more interesting carscape, but I'm not sure the UK market can sustain another "premium" brand.

Greetings Car Buffs

As a Fan of Lancia since My Dad got a New Beta Coupe I am gladdened to see the return of LANCIA to these native shores and I shall hope to be one of the first people to drive this NEW and EXCITING Model when it finally lands in the Dealerships Next year,

Now for those who claim to know about LANCIA its been going for a 100 years and in its time it has always at the forfront of technology and cutting edge design now the new DELTA might not be everyones cup of tea but hey wont it stand out in the Car Park and get noticed why not stand up and be different.

Also I hope LANCIA do take the Delta Rallying and win another bucket load of WRC and show everyone how its done as its predeercessor the fabled INTEGRALE did and lets be honest the INTEGRALE was no stunner either in looks but it has since gone down in Rally folk law as a Legend