CarBrandLogos archive · Lancia · 1972

LanciaBeta

The first car of the Fiat era, and the one whose rust cost Lancia a whole market.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Lancia history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Lancia Beta, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Fiat rescued Lancia from insolvency in 1969, and the Beta of 1972 was the first product of that ownership. It was designed quickly, using Fiat mechanical components, and it was a competent modern car: a transverse front engine driving the front wheels, a five-speed gearbox, twin-cam engines from 1.3 to 2.0 litres, and all-independent suspension. The range spread unusually wide, from a fastback saloon through a Pininfarina-styled coupe, the Spider targa, the HPE shooting brake and the mid-engined Montecarlo, which was a genuinely different car sharing the name.

Lancia Beta Spider Roof On · Mark Grant · Public domain

Design and engineering

What destroyed it was corrosion. Early cars used steel of poor quality, and in Britain, where salt is spread on winter roads, Betas rusted quickly and in structurally serious places, including the front subframe mountings. In 1980 the story broke in the British press, and Lancia's response, buying back and scrapping a large number of affected cars, confirmed the scale of the problem rather than containing it. The reputational damage was total and permanent. Lancia's British sales never recovered, and the company withdrew from the United Kingdom entirely in 1994, along with most other right-hand-drive markets.

Lancia Beta

In production

The cars themselves deserved better. The HPE in particular was an unusually well-resolved combination of estate practicality and coupe proportions, and the supercharged 2.0-litre Volumex versions were quick. The Montecarlo, developed from a Fiat project, gave rise to the Lancia 037 rally car.

Lancia Beta-HPE · Luc106 · Public domain

Legacy

Production ran to 1984, with assembly at Turin, Grugliasco, Milan and, for some models, Pamplona. The Prisma replaced the saloon.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

1.3&nbsp

Designer

Centro Stile Fiat (Berlina)

Body

4-door fastback Sedan

Technical specification

The Beta, in detail.

Production: 1972–1984
Class: Entry-level luxury car (D)
Body style: 4-door fastback Sedan (car); saloon (berlina); 4-door notchback Sedan (car); saloon (Trevi); 2-door coupé; 2-door Targa top; targa (Spider); 3-door shooting brake (HPE); 2-door Mid-engine design; mid-engined coupé (Monte
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive; Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive (Montecarlo)
Engine: 1.3 L Straight-four engine; I4 (Petrol engine; petrol); 1.4 L I4 (petrol); 1.6 L I4 (petrol); 1.8 L I4 (petrol); 2.0 L I4 (petrol); 2.0 L Supercharger; supercharged I4 (petrol)
Designer: Centro Stile Fiat (Berlina); Centro Stile Lancia under Piero Castagnero (Coupé and Trevi); Pininfarina (Spider, HPE and Montecarlo)
Assembly: Italy: Turin; Italy: Grugliasco (Pininfarina); Italy: Milan (Zagato: Spider); Spain: Pamplona (SEAT)
Manufacturer: Lancia