The revitalized Italian automaker’s cars will be pitched as a premium product and the first of this new era is the car we’ve scooped here, the Ypsilon supermini, that goes on sale in Europe next year and is scheduled for launch in February. Based on the same e-CMP Stellantis platform as the Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa, the new Ypsilon replaces the brand’s current 12-year-old hatchback of the same name and brings electric power to the model for the first time. Mild-hybrid combustion versions will also be available until Lancia goes EV-only in 2028.
If it gets the same EV setup as the latest
e-208, which it probably will, the Ypsilon will mate a single 154 hp electric motor in the nose with a 51 kWh battery that should give around 400 km of range and can accept 100 kW at charging points. Expect zero
to 62 mph to take just over 8 seconds, as it does in the Peugeot and Corsa. Where
the Lancia will differentiate itself from its Stellantis siblings is in its
styling and trim, both inside and out. This test car’s camouflage wrap doesn’t
give much clue as to how the front end will look, but earlier teaser images
have hinted at an angular look to the nose with a prominent edge to the hood.
What interests us about this car though, is the notchback styling of the rear
end, something automakers have applied to liftbacks many times in the past to
give a hint of traditional sedan styling to woo conservative buyers or try to
hint at ‘luxury.’
But it’s inside the cabin where the
Ypilson will really push its luxury message, though it might only work if your
idea of automotive luxury is stuck in 1982. These shots show seats covered in a
mix of leather and velour, the headrests again being wrapped in what looks like
velour and proudly displaying the ‘Lancia’ name. But by far the weirdest bit of
the interior is the circular pad mounted below the infotainment touchscreen. It
appears to contain a wireless phone charging pad but looks like it could also
work as a bird bath.
We know from an earlier teaser that this
feature is called the “tavolino” and is designed to evoke feelings of being at
home. It will also come with a leather lining on the Ypsilon Edizione Limitata
Cassina, a special version of the supermini that will be limited to 1,906
units, that number a nod to the year of Lancia’s birth. But this test car is
slumming it with a regular old plastic tray. The new Ypsilon goes on sale in
Europe next summer and will be built in Spain alongside its Opel Corsa brother.
Two years later, in 2026, it will be joined by the Lancia Gamma electric
crossover, and a Delta EV hatch completes the three-car lineup in 2028
