2002 – 2009 Lancia Thesis: School’s Over

2009 Lancia Thesis Ultima Edizione

The auto industry is changing fast. Consolidations have made larger economies of scale more profitable, but often at the expense of individual brand personality. One of those great personalities that lost much in the process of being swept up by Fiat Chrysler was Lancia.

A History of Innovation
Established in 1906, Lancia was one of the first major Italian carmakers. They have been sold in some capacity in the United States until 1982 when they completely pulled out of our market. Today they have a ghost presence in The States thanks to parent company Fiat Chrysler, whose cross branding and platform sharing gives Americans something close to Lancia’s only car the Ypsilon as the Fiat 500. While most Americans associate Lancia with boxy Delta rally cars or the distinctive Scorpion or Beta Coupes, in Europe Lancia sold a line of large executive cars.

Lancia’s large cars since the 1970s

With names like Gamma, Thema, Kappa and Thesis, you might think Lancia was a proud sponsor of your local fraternity. As a company Lancia has been schooling the industry since its inception with a long lists of engineering firsts like the use of standard electrical systems, independent front suspension and the 5-speed transmission. For it’s large car, the company introduced the first series production of the V6 in it’s Aurelia in 1950. As flagships go, Lancia’s executive cars were technologically advance and quite often diverged from the design norms established by their northern European peers in Germany and England.

2009 Lancia Thesis Bicolore

Dramatic, Yet Restrained Design
More recently, Lancia’s last homemade big car was the Thesis. The Thesis had a startling design that was first previewed as the Dialogos concept at the 1998 Geneva Motor Show. The show car wowed audiences with its elegant futuristic shape. The actual production car was not so dramatic, but retain many of the Dialogos’ design cues. Unfortunately, the sporting character of the show car was all but lost on the production version. Like Rover’s 95, the Thesis was designed as a luxury car without any pretense to sporting

1998 Lancia Dialogos concept

driving or aggressive looks.

You might say the Thesis looks like a cross between Kia’s Amanti and the Ford Scorpion. Still others might compare it to the Infiniti J30, another bulbous luxury car without sporting pretense. In keeping with that theme, even the wheels looked understated. The choice of 16 inch wheels and tires was a compromise between looks and ride comfort. The smaller wheels looked less prestigious than other cars in the class. The Thesis was far more elegant than any of its price matched competitors as it’s flowing lines and slippery profile exemplified a rare expression of Italian big car design. The Thesis was offered with as many as 12 color options, but it was most impressive when in black or other dark hues.

Small Numbers, Smaller Impact
Making a big splash prior to production by landing a stint as the Pope’s official car did little to boost sales. That modified car carried some PR weight in Italy, but much of the world had no idea what a Thesis was. They were not even sold in England. Just as well, Thesis competitors like the BMW 5 series and Mercedes E class were well established and sold circles around the it, even in Italy.

The Thesis availability corresponds to a period where Lancia’s unit sales fell below 100,000 for the first time in decades. Lancia had high hopes on the Thesis saving the company’s big car heritage, but sales would get progressively lower with each production year. The first year of production saw less than 600 cars leave the factory. After a peak in 2003 with nearly 5,000 units sold, sales would drop to a low three digit mark by the final year of production.

2002 Lancia Thesis side profile

Certainly Not an Alfa Romeo
For the few that bought the Thesis, they were treated to the highest standard of luxury to ever come from Lancia. Power came from three petrol and one Common Rail turbo-diesel unit ranging from a 2.0 inline 5 up to a 3.2 liter V6. Lancia’s engine options were part of the corporate umbrella of engines shared with Fiat and Alfa Romeo from the Fiat Chrysler group. They ranged in power from 168 (2.4) to 215 (3.2). The most powerful variants could only manage 0 to 60 times in the mid 8 second range. The Thema was never about German sport luxury car standards as much as it was about a compliant ride and a posh interior that pampered both driver and passengers with an impressive range of kit – like an Italian old school Cadillac.

When equipped with the 3.2 liter 24 valve V6, the Thema was quick quiet and smooth riding, like a big heavy luxury car should be. Even the smallest of the inline 5 cylinders had a smooth power delivery when coupled with the 5 speed “Comformatic” auto transmission. Interestingly, despite the driving characteristics of a luxury car, 5 cylinder versions of these cars were available with a manual transmission sporting wooden shift knobs.

Lancia Thesis interior

American Big Car Luxury with Italian Style
Which brings us to the Thesis most special quality: it’s lush interior. Design to look and feel like a more expensive car, it featured full leather interiors with suede-like material on the door panels and real walnut wood accents. In addition to having simple Acura-like dash layout, the control center sported big backlit dials similar to what the first generation Chrysler 300 was using (presumably no parts were shared between them at this point). The Thesis Skyhook was a air suspension control system similar to those in some Hyundai and Maserati. In addition to a screen based navigation system, Bose stereo and phone charger, the Thesis could be equipped with a Bosch made adaptive cruise control system, a first for a Lancia. Even rear seat passengers could move the front seats up with their own power seat control to add legroom.

As good as the Thesis was on paper and in person (especially when inside it’s cabin), it struggled to make any impact. It sold considerably less than the Lancia’s previous big car the Kappa. Its position in the market as a moderately priced luxury car among highly competitive and higher volume mid priced cars may not have helped it’s status in the marketplace. The Thesis could easily have been positioned higher in the market where it would have been a bargain next to slightly larger cars from BMW, Audi and Mercedes.

2003 Lancia Thesis dashboard

The End of a Legacy
By the end of the Thesis’ run, Lancia had dwindled down to a badge engineered retail outlet for it’s parent company. The Thesis would carry on, but would be based on the Chrysler 300 after 2009. It was an attractive (and still distinctive) brand engineered car, but lacked the polish and Italian personality of the Thesis. With that the last of the true Italian big cars from Lancia was gone.

Today the once storied brand is reduced to selling variants of a luxurious supermini called the Ypsilon.

2009 Lancia Thesis