Lancia Thema

Overview

The Thema was available as a saloon and as a station wagon designed by Pininfarina, and was considered one of the most spacious and comfortable European cars of its time. In addition to the sedans, 21,074 Thema station wagons were built by Pininfarina between 1986 and 1994 in their Borgo San Paolo plant. Zagato had shown a station wagon prototype earlier, at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show, with a larger glass area in the rear and with more discreet D-pillars than for the Pininfarina variant.

The Thema was Lancia's luxury car based on the Tipo Quattro platform, the others being the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000. The Thema re-established Lancia as a high-quality luxury manufacturer with a galvanized steel chassis and rust protection that equaled or bettered that of its competitors. Build quality was higher than the Fiat Croma's and on par with the Saab 9000, with which it shared a great deal of body engineering, including doors. Lancia's sales organisation, however, was poor in many markets and secondhand values for the car suffered.

The first series was built between 1984 and 1988, and was available with 1995 cc 8 valve, twin-cam fuel injected or turbocharged engines or a 2849 cc V6. For most European markets a 2445 cc four-cylinder turbodiesel was also available. The second series Thema was presented in the Paris Motor Show in September 1988 with 16v 2.0 litre engines replacing the 2.0 litre 8v units increasing the power output of the injection version to 146 PS and the turbo to 205 PS. The diesel engine size increased marginally, to 2499 cc. The series two was then replaced by the facelifted third and last series, introduced in Paris Motor Show in September 1992 and produced from 1992-1994.

Production of the Thema ceased in 1994 when Lancia withdrew from RHD markets (including the United Kingdom) in response to falling sales (the station wagon version was never offered in RHD). Lancia continued, however, to be one of the most popular manufacturers in the Italian market and the Thema's replacement, the Lancia Kappa, sold well.

Thema 8.32

First shown at the Turin Auto Show in 1986, the Thema 8.32 ("8" standing for the number of cylinders and "32" for the number of valves) was assembled at Lancia's S. Paolo plant in Turin. It used a 2927 cc, Tipo F105L, Ferrari V8. This engine was based on the unit used in the Ferrari 308 and in the Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole, and some of the componentry was assembled by Ducati from castings made at Maranello. The engine differed from other Ferrari V8s of the time in that it was equipped with a cross-plane type crankshaft rather than the usual flat-plane crankshaft, smaller valves and different firing order. All this to make the engine characteristics more suitable in a four-door luxury saloon. Both Series 1 and 2 cars in non catalysed form produced 215|PS and were capable of 0–100km/h in 6.8 seconds and 240km/h whilst catalysed versions were slightly detuned to 205PS which gave 0–100 km/h in 7.2 seconds and 235|km/h.

The car offered stunning performance and excellent refinement, including a luxurious hand made wood-and- optional leather interior by Poltrona Frau complete with similar luxury equipment as LX versions of the Thema. Unfortunately, a price tag of £40,000 (or more) in Britain, and the fact that only left hand drive versions were produced, limited its appeal with only 9 being officially sold there. This version of the Thema also sold in limited numbers in Italy with 2370 Series 1 built between 1986 and 1988 and 1601 Series 2 built between 1989 and 1992. Thema was the first car to feature electronically raised rear spoiler, that in closed position would fit flush with the boot lid. One Thema 8.32 was converted to Right hand Drive by TAK Motor Co. in South Africa in 1985 for the MD of TAK.

Its key competitors were some of the fastest saloon models of the late 1980s including the Audi 100 Quattro, BMW M535i, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and Opel Lotus Omega/Vauxhall Lotus Carlton.

Five non catalyst Thema 8.32s were exported to Taiwan and 2 of them still survive today.

8.32 Limited Edition

32 numbered vehicles were made on series 1 and 2 catalysed cars, prepared by Lancia Germany. These were only available in non-metallic Ferrari-red, Rosso Monza, known from then-current Ferrari Mondial and 328/348. Numbering was present inside the car on the ashtray lid. This edition was inspired by a non-cat Rosso Monza Thema 8.32 made for a Lancia-Martini team director.

Thema Limousine

Built only on request by wealthy customers and Fiat-Group executives, the Thema Limousine featured the same interior as the LX and the 8.32 versions. Most of them were powered by a 2.8 L PRV V6 engine, replaced in the last ones by the 3.0 L Alfa Romeo V6 engine. Only 24 Thema Limousines were built. The wheelbase of the car was extended by 30 cm (1 ft) to 2960 mm, with a resulting overall length of 4890 mm. The weight increased to 1,400 kg (3,090 lb), or by just over one fifth. The price, meanwhile, was up nearly sixty percent over a comparably equipped regular wheelbase Thema 6V.

Engines

With the exception of the 8.32 Ferrari engine, Thema powerplants originated from the Fiat engine series designed by Aurelio Lampredi, the famed engine designer formerly of Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. The straight-4 2.0 L petrol engine, available in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged versions, was refined and offered good performance. Earlier Themas were also offered with a 2.8 L PRV V6 engine, developed in cooperation with Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo. This unit was replaced in 1992 with a 3.0 L Alfa Romeo V6 engine (Fiat had bought Alfa Romeo in 1986 and gained access to this engine).

Chrysler 300C based Lancia Thema

Starting in the 2011 model year and ending in early 2014, the Chrysler 300C was sold in Europe's left hand drive markets as the Lancia Thema, and as a right hand drive Chrysler 300C in the United Kingdom and Ireland.