You know them. And somehow not. We are not talking about our own neighbours, but about cars that remained so inconspicuous that only die-hard fans still know them today. Such models were not necessarily flops, but they fell under the radar of the average car buyer.
At irregular intervals, we will bring such classic and modern classic cars out of the fog of oblivion under the title "Do you remember?".
In February 2024, Lancia will present the new Ypsilon. A small car that will also be available as an electric car. The history of the Ypsilon goes back almost four decades to 1985, when the Y10 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, developed by the Fiat Centro Stile with the aim of offering the public an elegant alternative to the B-segment city car.
Gallery: Lancia Ypsilon (2003-2011)
The Y10 was immediately recognised as sophisticated and chic, the first luxury small car aimed specifically at women. Sales figures reached one million after 10 years, until it was replaced by its successor, the Lancia Y, in 1995. One letter, but already pronounced "Ypsilon".
The first fully spelled-out Ypsilon celebrated its 20th birthday this year. It was launched on the market in 2003 and offered an even more sophisticated ambience. Lancia itself spoke of a "genuine flagship for your pocket": from the large Skydome roof to the dual-zone automatic air conditioning and the Bose sound system.
The design of the Ypsilon (internally type 843) was reminiscent of the extravagant Lancia Thesis in some details, such as the elongated vertical rear lights or the front section with the large grille typical of the brand. Not even the manufacturer itself denied the use of various retro elements.
The Ypsilon logo was newly underlined. The logo, designed by the Carrè Noir advertising agency, was intended to be "a metaphor for the new stylistic and content-related level of the model compared to the previous Lancia Y". The lettering was extended from the single letter of the previous vehicle (i.e. a Y) to the word denoting the Greek letter in cursive: Ypsilon.
Inside, there were fine materials if required and, according to the manufacturer, a total of 555 options for customising the Ypsilon. The spectrum ranged from two-tone leather to Alcantara or soft velvet and maritime glamour fabric. There were also eleven body colours, six different interior finishes (in eight different shades) and five types of alloy wheels (including the versions available as accessories). The new model series was available in three trim levels (Ypsilon, Argento and Platino).
The two-colour paint finishes ("Bi-Colore") offered since 2004 in particular gave the car an individual and even extravagant look. With these bi-colour paint finishes, a high-gloss or matt paint in a different colour was applied to the roof, the exterior mirrors and the tailgate. The special "Versus" model, a collaboration between Lancia and Versace in 2008, had Versus lettering screen-printed on the roof and tailgate.
With the model revision in 2006, various two-tone light alloy wheels were added to the range. Parts of these wheels were polished to a chrome-like high gloss and the other parts were painted in anthracite, black or brown.
Let's move on to the engines: the basic units were the tried-and-tested 1.2-litre with 60 PS and the 1.2 16V with 80 PS. The other two engines were new: a 1.4 16V with 95 PS and the 1.3 Multijet 16V. The latter was a diesel with an output of 70 PS and a torque of 180 Nm at 1,750 rpm. At the time, it was the smallest four-cylinder common-rail diesel engine on the market. An automated gearbox was available as an option. Its name was very Italian: DFN stood for "Dolce far niente", the sweet art of doing nothing.
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