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Lancia Thema
 
 
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The Lancia Thema is an executive car
Executive car

Executive car is a British English term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an automobile larger than a large family car. In official use, the term is adopted by EuroNCAP, a European organization founded to test car safety....
 produced by the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 automaker
Automaker

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2007, more than 73 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide....
 Lancia
Lancia

Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italy automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage....
 between 1984 and 1994, and was one of four cars to share the "Type Four
Type Four chassis

The Type Four chassis was a common front wheel drive platform used in the 1980s for the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and Alfa Romeo 164....
" chassis alongside the Alfa Romeo 164
Alfa Romeo 164

The Alfa Romeo 164 was an executive car with sedan body, produced by the Italy automaker Alfa Romeo from 1988 to 1997.The 164 was re-badged as the 168 for the Hong Kong and Malaysian markets, as the number "164" had a very negative connotation , and "168" has quite the opposite ....
, Fiat Croma
Fiat Croma

The Fiat Croma is a nameplate used for two automobiles produced by Italian automaker Fiat, one built from 1985 to 1996 and the other since 2005....
 and Saab 9000
Saab 9000

The 9000, Saab Automobile's first executive car, was released in 1985. It was replaced by the Saab 9-5 in the fall of 1998 for the 1999 model year....
. The Thema was first shown in Turin Motor Show in 1984.

Thema was available as a sedan and as a station wagon
Station wagon

A station wagon in American English, Australian English, Canadian English and New Zealand English usage and an estate car in British English usage, is a passenger automobile with a car body style similar to a sedan but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area, i.e. ending with a more vertical door...
 designed by Pininfarina
Pininfarina

Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian automobile design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy, founded as Societ? anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista Farina ....
, and was considered one of the most spacious and comfortable European cars of its time.






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Thema 02
The Lancia Thema is an executive car
Executive car

Executive car is a British English term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an automobile larger than a large family car. In official use, the term is adopted by EuroNCAP, a European organization founded to test car safety....
 produced by the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 automaker
Automaker

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2007, more than 73 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide....
 Lancia
Lancia

Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italy automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage....
 between 1984 and 1994, and was one of four cars to share the "Type Four
Type Four chassis

The Type Four chassis was a common front wheel drive platform used in the 1980s for the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and Alfa Romeo 164....
" chassis alongside the Alfa Romeo 164
Alfa Romeo 164

The Alfa Romeo 164 was an executive car with sedan body, produced by the Italy automaker Alfa Romeo from 1988 to 1997.The 164 was re-badged as the 168 for the Hong Kong and Malaysian markets, as the number "164" had a very negative connotation , and "168" has quite the opposite ....
, Fiat Croma
Fiat Croma

The Fiat Croma is a nameplate used for two automobiles produced by Italian automaker Fiat, one built from 1985 to 1996 and the other since 2005....
 and Saab 9000
Saab 9000

The 9000, Saab Automobile's first executive car, was released in 1985. It was replaced by the Saab 9-5 in the fall of 1998 for the 1999 model year....
. The Thema was first shown in Turin Motor Show in 1984.

Overview

The Thema was available as a sedan and as a station wagon
Station wagon

A station wagon in American English, Australian English, Canadian English and New Zealand English usage and an estate car in British English usage, is a passenger automobile with a car body style similar to a sedan but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area, i.e. ending with a more vertical door...
 designed by Pininfarina
Pininfarina

Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian automobile design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy, founded as Societ? anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista Farina ....
, 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 1986-1994 in their Borgo San Paolo plant.

The Thema re-established Lancia as a high-quality luxury manufacturer in response to the problems the marque had experienced with the Lancia Beta
Lancia Beta

The Lancia Beta is a car produced by Lancia. It was the first Lancia produced by the company after it had been taken over by Fiat in 1969.The company chose the name Beta for a new vehicle to be launched in 1972....
, which was heavily mauled by the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 tabloid
Tabloid

A tabloid is an industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread; to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest stories and entertainment, often distributed free of charge ; or to a newspaper that tends to emphasize sensationalism crime stories, gossip columns repeating scandalous innuend...
 Daily Mirror and Esther Rantzen
Esther Rantzen

Esther Louise Rantzen Order of the British Empire is an England journalist and television presenter who is best known for her long stint in That's Life! and her child protection activities as founder of the charity ChildLine....
, presenter of the BBC TV show That's Life!
That's Life!

That's Life! was a magazine-style television series on BBC between 1973 and 1994, television presenter by Esther Rantzen throughout the entire run, with various changes of co-presenters....
, for being excessively and dangerously rust-prone; this defamation and defacing campaign, which was based on exaggeration and distortion of facts, pretty much ruined the company's commercial standing and reputation. The Thema reversed this trend 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's. The sales organisation, however, was poor in many markets and secondhand values for the car suffered.

Production of the Thema ceased in 1994 when Lancia withdrew from right-hand drive markets (including the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
) in response to dwindling popularity and sales. (The station wagon version was never offered in right-hand drive.) Lancia continued, however, to be one of the most popular manufacturers in the Italian market and the Thema's replacement, the Lancia Kappa
Lancia Kappa

The Lancia Kappa is an executive car produced by Italy automaker Lancia. It replaced the Lancia Thema as Lancia's flagship vehicles model in 1994 and was itself replaced by Lancia Thesis in 2001....
, sold well.

Thema 8.32


The ultimate Thema, the '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 Ferrari
Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1928 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari Joint stock company....
 V8. This engine was based on the unit used in the Ferrari 308 qv
Ferrari 308 GTB

The Ferrari 308 GTB were RMR layout sports cars manufactured by the Italian company Ferrari in the 1970s-1980s. They made up the lower end of the company's range....
 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 90 degree crankpin type crankshaft rather than the usual 180 degree type,smaller valves and different firing order. All this to make the engine caracteristics more suitable in a 4-door luxury saloon. Both Series 1 and 2 cars in non catalysed form produced 215 bhp (158 kW) and were capable of 0-100 km/h in 6.8 sec and 149 mph (240 km/h) whilst catalysed versions were slightly detuned to 205 bhp (151 kW) which gave 0-100 km/h in 7.2 sec and 145 mph (235 km/h).

The car offered good performance (though the Turbo version was quicker than the catalytic version from 0 to 100 km/h) and excellent refinement, including a luxurious hand made wood-and-leather interior by Poltrona Frau complete with the same 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. It was even a rare sight on Italian roads, with just 2370 Series 1 built between 1986 and 1988 and 1601 Series 2 built between 1989 and 1992. Even 64 numbered editions where made,32 series 1 and 32 series 2. These where only delivered in Ferrari-red and should be sought after examples in the future.

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

Engines

Thema powerplants originated from the Fiat
Fiat

Fiat S.p.A. Fiat based cars are constructed all around the world?the largest concern outside Italy is in Brazil . It also has factories in Argentina and Poland....
 engine series designed by Aurelio Lampredi
Aurelio Lampredi

Aurelio Lampredi was an Italy automobile and aircraft engine designer.He began his career at Piaggio, makers of the Vespa scooter, but quickly moved up to larger engines....
, the famed engine designer formerly of Ferrari
Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1928 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari Joint stock company....
 and Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker founded on 24 June 1910 in Milan. Alfa Romeo has been a part of the Fiat Group since 1986....
. The straight-4
Straight-4

The straight-4 or inline-4 engine is a four cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinder mounted in a straight line along the crankcase....
 2.0 L petrol engine
Petrol engine

A Petrol engine or Gasoline engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition engine designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
, 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
PRV engine

The PRV engine is an automobile petrol V6 engine that was developed jointly by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo Cars and sold from 1974 to 1998. It was gradually replaced after 1994 by another joint PSA Group-Renault design known as the PSA ES engine at PSA Group and the PSA ES engine at Renault....
 V6 engine, developed in cooperation with Peugeot
Peugeot

Peugeot is a major France automobile brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citro?n. Its parent company PSA Peugeot Citro?n is the second largest carmaker in Europe, behind Volkswagen....
, Renault
Renault

Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., it is currently the world's 4th largest automaker.It owns the Romanian automaker Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault Samsung Motors....
, and Volvo
Volvo

The Volvo Group is a Sweden supplier of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services....
. This unit was replaced in 1992 with a 3.0 L Alfa Romeo V6 engine
Alfa Romeo V6 engine

Alfa Romeos in-house V6 engine design made its initial d?but in 1979 in the Alfa Romeo Alfa 6, later attaining fame under the hood of the Alfa Romeo 164....
.

ModelDisplacementPowerTorqueNoteTop Speed/0-100 km/h/s
2.0 8V1995 cc1985-1989
2.0 8V1995 cc1987-1989
2.0 8V1995 cc1989-1995
2.0 16V1995 cc1989-1992
2.0 16V1995 cc1992-1995
2.0 Turbo 8V1995 cc1985-1988
2.0 Turbo 8V1995 cc1988-1989
2.0 Turbo 16V1995 cc1989-1992
2.0 Turbo 16V1995 cc1992-1995
2.9 V6 12V2849 cc1985-1989
2.9 V6 12V2849 cc1989-1992
3.0 V6 12V2959 cc1992-1995
3.0 V8 32V2927 cc1987-1989
3.0 V8 32V2927 cc1989-1992
2.5 TD2445 cc1985-1989
2.5 TD2499 cc1989-1992
2.5 TD2499 cc1992-1995


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