Lancia is one of those old Italian car companies that had its glory days many decades ago and then faded into obscurity, though not vanishing totally. After being independent in its first 56 years, it became part of the Fiat group in 1969. As the Fiat group is now part of Stellantis, Lancia has become a division which has continued to sell its cars but only in the Italian market.
However, Stellantis sees Lancia as a brand that can be revived and brought to greater heights. It is therefore embarking on a new era with a new design vision. This design vision – Lancia Pu+Ra Design – is previewed in the Pu+Ra Zero, a 3-dimensional ‘manifesto’ that will guide the designers of the 3 new Lancia models to be launched between 2024 and 2028.
New design language
Created from the words ‘Pure’ and ‘Radical’, Lancia Pu+Ra Design is described as a sustainable design language that is intended to ‘last for the next 100 years’. It draws on the Italian style of the brand’s models in the past – like the Aurelia, Flaminia, Stratos and Delta – combining with the most modern expressions of radicality and simplicity, inspired by the language of furniture, architecture, and fashion.
With Lancia Pu+Ra Design, the forms of the new models will have successive layering, adding and intersecting elementary and iconic shapes, such as the circle, rectangle, and triangle, and combining them with eclectic details. The result is an overall language that is not typically automotive – as evident in the Pu+Ra Zero concept.
As for the interiors, Lancia Pu+RA Design draws from the Italian furniture design, an Italian excellence of attention to detail, materials research, and innovation. The aim will be create a space, generated by simple geometries with a radical perspective, as well as being. A ‘colour blocking’ approach and the choice of fine and sustainable materials will also define the future spirit of the brand.
The interiors of future Lancia models will be consistent with the design of their exteriors. The occupants will be embraced by the typical Lancia elegance, with interiors inspired by the icons of the past like the Gamma, Thema, and Flavia. They will travel within an authentic ‘living room’ atmosphere, providing a feeling similar to the one experienced in a typical Italian home.
This led to Lancia’s decision to team up with Cassina, a reputable Italian design company with nearly 100 years of history, innovation and research. Cassina will join Lancia to bring its experience in the automotive industry, focusing on shared values such as Italian spirit, innovation, tradition and respect for the environment, giving rise to a future project.
A new logo
Along with the presentation of its new design vision for the future, the company has also created a new brand logo for the new era. This will be the eighth logo in Lancia’s 116 years of history and marks its entry into the era of electric mobility. It will be used with the new Ypsilon and coming models, as well as progressively becoming part of the new corporate identity by the beginning of 2024.
Mainly inspired by the 1957 logo, which was first introduced on the Flaminia, the new logo represents an authentic jewel, very classic in its aesthetics, where elements of simplicity and graphic purity meet elements of preciousness, in terms of colours, materials, and treatments. Made of aluminium and expression of the new graphic codes of the brand, the new logo is ‘shrouded in light’. This is a reference to technologies used in the automotive industry, with circular brushing typical of the watch dial. The Lancia lettering with an original font which takes inspiration from one of the Italian excellences most closely linked with the history of the brand – fashion
To create the new logo, the team of designers of Lancia studied the previous versions. The new logo revisits all the distinctive elements of the historical logo, the wheel, the flag, the shield, the lance and the lettering, reinterpreted to make them modern and projecting them into the future. All these constituent elements of the brand are the symbols of Lancia nobility and heritage that are now simplified, both in terms of lines and shapes, with a touch of eclecticism by the asymmetrical lance.
The 3-dimensional design manifesto
The Pu+Ra Zero is a 3-dimensional manifesto which holds clues to the new Ypsilon, the new flagship and the new Delta to come. It blends the primary, iconic and typical shapes of Lancia tradition in a continuous dialogue between the brand’s two different but complementary souls, between past and future.
The front features are a reinterpretation of Lancia’s historic grille, the ‘calice’, now projected into the future through three rays of light to make it iconic and memorable. This new pure, technological and with a unique identity ‘calice’ will be found on all three of Lancia’s new models, making them instantly recognizable during the day and the night.
The form’s soft, fluid lines recall the design of Aurelia B20 and Flaminia, with a circular roof that floods the cabin with light. On the rear. the round taillights stand out will bring to mind those of the Stratos and these shapes will also be seen on the new Ypsilon.
The Lancia Renaissance
The Lancia Renaissance deploys in a 10-year strategic plan which will see the launch of a range of three new models — one every two years starting from 2024 — to cover 50% of the market. It is a roadmap which is moving quickly as part of Stellantis’ ‘Dare Forward’ strategic plan. This can be seen in the electrification process which will lead the brand to sell only 100% electric vehicles in 2028.
The other pillar of Lancia’s Renaissance is sustainability and in the New Ypsilon’s cabin, at least 50% of touchable surfaces will be ecological. Furthermore, the creation of an efficient and innovative distribution model is underway, with 100 new exclusive showrooms in Europe and a selection of partners in Italy. In addition, the new system will make maximum use of online sales channels.
