Car Sport 2011: Lancia

Showing posts with label Lancia. Show all posts

10/13/10

New Chrysler 200 May be Rebadged as a Lancia in Europe

Chrysler's redesigned / facelifted Sebring, which will go on sale in the U.S. later this year as the new 200 sedan, was only just released on Tuesday, yet we already have news that it may be sold in mainland Europe as a Lancia and as a Chrysler in the UK and Ireland (the Italian firm has withdrawn from these markets). The Fiat Group is considering the move not so much for retail sales as to help boost fleet sales in key markets such as Germany and the UK.

"We are running numbers to see if it could become a profitable business case," Olivier Francois, CEO of the Chrysler and Lancia brands told Autonews Europe.

The news site reports that a major drawback to this move is that no diesel engine will be available on the 200 in the United States, where the car will be offered with 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and 3.6-liter V6 gasoline engines. However, the report doesn't mention that the current Sebring [Convertible] is offered with a 2.0-liter CRDi turbodiesel engine in certain European markets.

The main problem is the cost and the fact that the 200 would be sold for less than three years in the European market since the Fiat Group is planning to replace the car with all-new model for both Chrysler and Lancia brands in late 2013. The relatively short sale timeframe would make it difficult for the company to recover the investment.

On that note, industry sources state that the Fiat Group will have to spend around €50 million ($70 million) to modify the 200 for Europe. This number is said to include adapting the car for diesel engine(s) as well as redesigning certain parts such as bumpers and lights.

If the Fiat Group makes a business case for the Lancia-badged 200, expect to see the car arriving in the market in the second-half of 2011.

Source: ANE [Sub. Req]

*The opening picture is a Carscoop photoshop

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Fiat Panda and Lancia Ypsilon Replacements Pushed Back for 2012

Following CEO Sergio Marchionne's comments at the 2010 Paris Motor Show (see here), Autonews Europe has uncovered new information regarding the Fiat Group's future product launches.

One of Fiat's most important models in Europe, the third generation Panda, was originally due in summer 2010 but its launch had already been pushed back to September 2011. Now, sources inside the company told the news site that the introduction of the small five-door hatchback will be further delayed until January 2012.

The third generation Lancia Ypsilon supermini has also been delayed more than two years, as have the replacements for the Fiat Idea / Lancia Musa small MPV twins and the Fiat Multipla 3+3 seater people carrier, which has been in production since 1998. The latter two launches were scheduled for December 2011 but have now been postponed until the second half of 2012.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne froze his company's spending in 2008 as the financial crisis hit Europe. Spending was set to return to normal this year, but has now been postponed indefinitely in light of what Marchionne perceives as an unimproved European new car market.

He now predicts a weaker Q1 2011 than Q1 2010, due to the ending of scrappage schemes in many European countries. The rest of 2011 is expected to be no better sale wise for Fiat, Marchionne predicts.

Analysts are predicting that Fiat's new car sales are likely to continue to decline without any new products; sales in Europe fell 13.9% to 723,356 vehicles in the first eight months of 2011 in a market that declined only 3.5%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

Stuart Pearson, an auto analyst at Morgan Stanley in London, says: "Fiat is playing a dangerous game and by delaying key models risks missing any European Union recovery if they are wrong on the timing. Customers are only paying for brand new metal."

The report did not mention any plans on future Alfa Romeo cars.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: ANE [sub.req]

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Fresh Videos of New Lancia Stratos Shot During Final Testing

The developers of the New Stratos have released some new video footage of their Ferrari F430 Scuderia-based supercar. The first clip shows WTTC and former Formula-1-Pilot Tiago Monteiro fine-tuning the chassis of the New Stratos at Balooco test track, Italy, while the second video is from the final wind tunnel test that took place on September 13th at Pininfarina's plant in Turin.

We're still waiting for the full technical specs and performance numbers but for now, head over the jump to watch the two aforementioned videos plus one more with the owner of the one-off supercar, Michael Stoschek, tackling the Arosa hillclimb in his classic Lancia Stratos Group 4.

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First Video of New Lancia Stratos Supercar in Action

We've been keeping an eye out for video footage of the one-off New Stratos supercar being developed by Pininfarina ever since the news broke out about the build. And today we found the first film showing the car in the flesh doing some rounds on the track. The man you see talking about the reborn Stratos in the video clip is none other than Michael Stoschek, the German automotive parts supply magnate behind the project.

Our knowledge of the German language is pretty much limited to certain key phrases such as "Bier, bitte mehr bier" and "Du siehst hübsch aus", so if any of you could translate, we'd appreciate it.

The New Stratos has been in development since late 2008. It's based on a shortened Ferrari 430 Scuderia chassis and, as you can see in the video below, power comes from a Ferrari V8 engine.

Born in the USA: Lancia, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo Jobs Coming to North America

Automotive News reports that Fiat's Italian manpower is being cut by 5,000 (approximately 6.25% of its total workforce in Italy) while "increasing domestic production to 900,000 units in 2012 from 661,100 units in 2009."

Fiat's response: "Media speculation about the plan's contents [is] 'premature and groundless.'"

Part of the supposed shift involves a decrease in models built, from fourteen to nine, while ramping-up production of the survivors.

Hit really hard will be Fiat's plant in Mirafiori, Turin. "Mirafiori builds the Fiat Punto Classic, Idea and Multipla models, the Lancia Musa and Alfa MiTo. Fiat is remodeling the plant to use a single line to build the Alfa Romeo MiTo and two new small minivans to replace the Idea and Multipla."

The Mirafiori plant is set to ax nearly 50% of its 5,840 workers; that's in addition to the 1,400 that are getting the boot in Termini Imerese, Sicily (where the Lancia Ypsilon is built), the 1,500-2000 in Pomigliano (being outfitted to built only the Panda replacement), and 500 workers at the Cassino plant.

Fiat is said to be bringing some production over to Chrysler's North American manufacturing facilities, which would then export the vehicles back to Europe.

Numbers from Chrysler are in the neighborhood of 270,000 Fiats, Lancias, and Alfas (plus 100,000 500s in Mexico) built on this side of the Atlantic by 2014.

Here's how the models will likely break down:

Alfa Romeo (in America): four models including the Giulia (sedan and touring variants of the 159 successor), a "large crossover", and a big, rear-wheel-drive 166 successor (likely to use Chrysler's LX platform).

Lancia (in Europe): using re-badged Chrysler and Dodge products, Lancia wants to remain (or is that become?) "near premium" by using the 300C (ok), the new-Sebring lineup (wait and see), and the Voyager (why won't you just die?).

Fiat (in Europe): will use the Dodge Nitro (somehow I don't see it winning people over), and Dodge's Journey crossover.

Thoughts on this newly globalized Fiat plan? You know where to go (it's down).

- By Phil Alex

Via: Automotive News

Race Retro 2010: Old-School Racers at their Shiniest - 180 Stunning Photos

Race Retro, billed as "Europe's premier historic Motorsport Show", recently wrapped up in Coventry. Carscoop reader and professional photographer Dario Carbone was there to take some special pics, which he was nice enough to put in our cold, dead hands.

He says "It's an event to commemorate the legends of Rally and other historic race cars. It also has a live rally stage where they run the group B monsters and allow those who weren't around in the early 80s to experience their brute force." Yes, please.

Now if I could find a poster of the jet-engine-to-the-face warning label, that would just be tops.