What Happened To Lancia? — The Boy Car Blog

In the 80s they were one of the best Rally teams, they were nearly unbeatable (only by Audi in the late 1980s). They were possibly the best rally team ever. Their Rally cars also were made into some amazing road cars that could even compete with more recognized manufacturers at the time like Ford and BMW. But fast forward to 2020 and all Lancia makes is a Fiat 500 looking hybrid called the Ypsilon. Obviously, something went wrong. My mission was to find out why they stopped making amazing cars.

The story starts in 1982 when Lancia had officially got their first Rally win. They kept on winning and winning until they got their first Group B manufacturers win in 1985. With incredible cars like the Stratos and the Integrale they dominated. But only one year after they got their first Group B championship win, the governing body of World Rally stopped Group B because the cars were getting way too powerful and it was becoming too dangerous. Many crashes happened and a couple of drivers were killed too. Lancia then focused their attention on Group A (later called WRC) and It really paid off as they got six consecutive championships - a world record and one that still has not been broken since.

Lancia dominated Group A and were possibly one of the best teams ever. But after the 92 season, they stopped competing. Their road going vehicle sales were decreasing and they just did not have the money to compete anymore. All of their models started to become less of their own design. Most of their lineup in the late ’90s and early 2000s were just off-brand fiats. They even pulled out of the right-hand drive market meaning no sales in countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia and Japan

In 2008 one last hit came for Lancia during the financial crisis. Lancia really struggled, barely surviving with only one model, the crappy Ypsilon. Although they’ve only sold that same model for over 12 years with minor changes, its sales are actually pretty good. This one car has more sales than its sister company Alfa Romeo.

But sadly Lancia is slowly dying out. As the parent owner, Fiat has a lot less focus on Lancia and more on their bigger brands like Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Chrysler. I would not even be surprised if they completely sunset Lancia production. It’s a very likely possibility.

Even if Lancia does disappear, they will leave a legacy on World Rally forever. They will probably be remembered as the best Rally car company ever. But, personally, I’m hoping they come out with new road going models and bring them to the American, Asian a European markets. Lancia is a great company with great people, but they just need to try harder than one car.

Pic Cred: Top Gear, Lancia, and Car scoops