1989 Lancia Delta Lx on 2040-cars

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Lancia Pu+Ra HPE concept combines the next 10 years of design and tech

The teaser campaign that started with a stylized sculpture last November culminates in this, the Lancia Pu+Ra HPE concept. This represents the long awaited — and perhaps overdue — reboot of a storied brand's design and tech vision for the next ten years. As such, designers packed so much of the past and the future that it's better to see the Pu+Ra as a combination of elements and philosophies coming to future Lancias instead of as a 1:1 template for how Lancias will look. There's also the matter of Lancia's sole market being Italy and tempered expansion from there taking place over a few years. That means a lot of what's here speaks loudest to the single market, which also happens to be the home market.  The HPE looks back to the 1970 Beta HPE shooting brake, when HPE stood for High Performance Estate. After Pu+Ra which mean Pure + Radical, those letters now stand for High Performance Electric and some impressive tech targets. Lancia wants a range of more than 435 miles on the WLTP cycle, battery efficiency of less than 10-kWh per 62 miles, and battery recharging times from 10% to 80% in ten minutes.   The big design strokes are simple geometric shapes, the light signature grille that doubles as a battery level readout, hollow round taillights a la the Stratos, the new Lancia logotype, and the new Lancia badge.     Inside, Lancia plans to create a "home feeling," similar to the 'living room space' characterization that often comes up in relation to autonomous vehicles. Lancia's called the tech component of this concept S.A.L.A., initials for Sound, Air, Light, and Augmentation that happen to spell the Italian word for living room, sala. No swiveling seats here, though. Interior designers worked with Italian furniture maker Cassina on fabrics and textures, resulting in a pair of deep bucket armchairs in wool cloth that look procured from a villa in Via Reggio. They're separated by an armrest that ends in a freestanding table. Elsewhere around the cockpit can be found sustainable wool, velvet, wood marquetry, door panels fabricated from marble dust, and nubuck leather produced without chrome tanning.  S.A.L.A.

Lancia concepts sweep Stellantis Drive for Design contest

Stellantis describes is annual Drive for Design contest as "an opportunity for high school students to win fabulous prizes while learning about exciting career opportunities in automotive design." Winners not only get gear like a Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16, they're eligible for summer internships in one of Stellantis' design studios. For the last two years of the contest, Rocco Morales won first prize — last year with his Ram Stadion concept, and in 2022 with his Chrysler Helios concept — and that was after coming second in 2021 with his Jeep Crazy Horse concept. With Morales having graduated, aging out of the entry pool, Rohan Sieber could be the next in the repeat winner's circle. Sieber, a junior in Portola, California, won the 2024 Drive for Design challenge. Students were asked to create a fresh concept for any of Stellantis' global brands. Everyone who made the podium chose to create a fictional Lancia. Sieber's entry is the Lancia Zero, "an electric sports car concept inspired by Lancia's legacy of radical design and legendary performance" that reworks the philosophy of the Stratos HF Zero. A junior this year, Sieber has a chance to replicate Morales' record if he enters and wins next year. Second place went to Ryan Panizzoli, a sophomore out of Plymouth, Michigan. The single image provided doesn't put a name to his Lancia creation, but tiny captions indicate a slide-out module in the rear that contains a cooking station.   Owen Bronson of Canton, Michigan claimed third place with this Lancia Pugnale concept, explicitly called a "modern interpretation of the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero HF Concept." Bronson kept more of the original than Sieber, and included the same kinds of cues that the actual Lancia brand applied to its Pu+Ra Zero and Pu+Ra HPE concepts that previewed future styling for the reborn automaker, like the Ypsilon lighting signature in front, the circular aperture on the roof, and the twin taillights.   The second- and third-place finishers get an Apple iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, a chance to network virtually with the Stellantis Design Team, a scholarship for a four-week summer program at Detroit's College for Creative Studies, and because they're Michigan locals, an invitation to be a Student Judge at the EyesOn Design at Ford House car show in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in June. Congratulations to all three of this year's winners. Design/Style Lancia Stellantis

Autoblog's guilty pleasure cars

Guilty pleasures are part of life – don't even try to pretend like you don't have one (or two, or six). In the non-automotive space, this could come down to that secret playlist in your iPhone of songs you'll only listen to when you're alone; or think of that one TV show you really do love, but won't admit to your friends. I've got plenty, and so do you. Going back to cars, here's a particularly juicy one for me: several years ago, I had a mad crush on the very last iteration of the Cadillac DTS. Oh yes, the front-wheel-drive, Northstar V8-powered sofa-on-wheels that was the last remaining shred of the elderly-swooning days of Cadillac's past. Every time I had the chance to drive one, I was secretly giddy. Don't hate me, okay? These days, the DTS is gone, but I've still got a mess of other cars that hold a special place in my heart. And in the spirit of camaraderie, I've asked my other Autoblog editors to tell me some of their guilty pleasure cars, as well – Seyth Miersma, as you can see above, has a few choice emotions to share about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Read on to find out what cars make us secretly happy. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG This decadent convertible is the epitome of the guilty pleasure. It's big, powerful, fairly heavy and it's richly appointed inside and out. It's a chocolate eclair with the three-pointed star on the hood. Given my druthers, I'd take the SL65 AMG, which delivers 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That output is borderline absurd for this laid-back convertible. I don't care. You don't need dessert. Sometimes you just crave it. The SL line is about the feel you get on the road. The roof is open. The air, sun and engine sounds all embrace you. It's the same dynamic you could have experienced in a Mercedes a century ago, yet the SL gives you the most modern of luxuries. An Airscarf feature that warms my neck and shoulders through a vent embedded in the seat? Yes, please. Sure, it's an old-guy car. Mr. Burns and Lord Grantham are probably too young and hip for an SL65. I don't care. This is my guilty pleasure. Release the hounds. – Greg Migliore Senior Editor Ford Flex I drove my first Flex in 2009 when my mother let me borrow hers for the summer while I was away at college. The incredibly spacious interior made moving twice that summer a breeze, and the 200-mile trips up north were quite comfortable.