2011 Lancia Thema Photos, engines & full specs

After joining forces with Chrysler, Lancia started to produce the Thema for the European market based on the same platform as the Chrysler 300.

Lancia was no longer an important brand in the European market. Still, the carmaker tried to survive with some help from its parent company, Fiat. So, after the Italian company inked a deal with Chrysler to form an alliance, Lancia got another chance. It used a renowned nameplate, the Thema, and installed it on a badge-engineered vehicle that was known in the U.S. as Chrysler 300. Unfortunately, the European customers knew that car too from the era when the American brand was part of the DaimlerChrysler group, so there were not too many buyers for that elegant vehicle.

The reason for a badge-engineered car is to lower, and split production costs among several brands, and one of the ideas was to add minimum changes between the twin vehicles. Lancia, on the other hand, tried a little bit more and reshaped the front fascia of the Thema. Thus, the shield-like chromed grille resembled some of the pre-WWII vehicles made by the Italian brand. Yet, the headlights had to keep the same shape as on its American brother, with a larger outer side and integrated blinkers into the headlamps. The rest of the vehicle looked the same, with a low roof line and short windows.

Inside, the rounded-shaped dashboard featured an arched visor above the instrument cluster filled with two large dials that flanked an LCD between them for the car's onboard computer information. Thanks to its wide, comfortable seats, the Thema was one of the best long-distance cruisers that wore an Italian badge at the front. In the back, it was enough room for three adults, but the middle-seated one had to sit above the transmission tunnel.

Under the hood, Lancia installed a choice of two engines: a 3.6-liter V6 carried over from Chrysler and a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel made by VM Motori. Both versions were paired with a five-speed automatic.