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New Lancia Ypsilon is Already Passé

Let's get one thing straight – this is NOT "the new Lancia Ypsilon," as Fiat-Chrysler wants us to believe. What you can see here is the four-wheeled equivalent of a middle-aged man who decided to buy a Porsche 911 Turbo to deal with his midlife crisis. It is a hollow excuse on FCA Group's behalf for not being able to bring the Lancia brand back to its former glory.
2015 Lancia Ypsilon 1 photo
Photo: Lancia
As I'm sure you already know, today's Lancia is like a has-been rock star that does reunion concerts because he's not relevant anymore. Nobody buys the newer albums, nobody actually cares about the latest music video, everybody in the audience wants to hear the chart toppers from the band's old, better days.

In Lancia's case, we all wish for a modern Delta Integrale or a wedge-shaped Stratos. Unfortunately for us Lancia fans, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne can't be bothered because ol' Sergio plans to spin off Ferrari for a truckload of cash. Oh, and a merger with General Motors, although GM gives him the cold shoulder.

With the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, Sergio and the Italo-American company he leads proved that FCA knows how to bring the dead back to life. However, Lancia's corpse is still rotting six feet under, decaying into the champagne beige Ypsilon you can see in the photograph above. And here is Fiat-Chrysler, having the nerve to tell us that we're in the presence of the "new Lancia Ypsilon." Give me a break...

Shrinking the front grille, chrome detailing for the front bumper, two new exterior colors, "new textures" for the dashboard, and 3 liters of extra glove compartment space isn't exactly a new model, dearest FCA. The 5-inch Uconnect infotainment system is nice and all, but come on, this 2015 Lancia Ypsilon isn't even worthy of being called a facelift. What about what's under the Ypsilon's bodywork? Anything new there?

Nope, nope, nope. We're dealing with the same Fiat Mini platform that's been developed at the end of the 1990s. As for the engine choices, the lineup ranges from a 0.9-liter TwinAir all the way to a 1.3-liter MultiJet turbo diesel. Despite their familiarity, the press release does mention that engineers overhauled these motors to comply with Euro 6 emissions standards. So, will Lancia ever get back on track?

Considering that FCA didn't say a word about the brand's future during the FCA Group Investor Day in 2014, the future looks bleak for Lancia-heads out there. But there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel...
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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