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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.

Fiat brings raft of special-edition hatchbacks to Geneva

The annual Geneva Motor Show presents a prime opportunity for any automaker – European ones especially – to show off new metal. You'd figure that would include the sprawling Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, but instead, one of Europe's largest automakers will be presenting a series of special-edition hatchbacks for the European market. Yeah, we're as disappointed as you are. First up is the Fiat division itself, which will be showcasing the Vintage '57 edition of the 500 and the Panda K-Way. The former puts an even more retro spin on the already-retro hatchback, with a two-tone pastel blue-and-white exterior, 16-inch white-and-chrome wheels and a tobacco-leather interior. The latter was designed in collaboration with the famous rainwear label, K-Way, and features mix-and-match exterior color combinations, titanium-finish trim and a specially crafted interior. Alfa Romeo will be celebrating the European debut of the 4C Spider we already saw in Detroit. In terms of new debuts, Alfa also has the elegant Collezione edition of the Giuletta and the MiTo Racer edition with gray and brown trim that looks, at first blush at least, much more subtle than the name would convey. Though no longer a major player in the Fiat portfolio, Lancia is showcasing the 30th Anniversary and Elle editions of the Ypsilon – the car that in its own words, "Italian women love more than any other." Jeep is showing the Renegade with new powertrain options, and Abarth has updated its range of 500-based hot hatches, but for something new and exciting, it looks like we'll be passing right by the Fiat section at the Geneva Palexpo this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Fiat Group special editions for Geneva 2015 News Source: Fiat Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo Fiat Lancia Hatchback 2015 Geneva Motor Show alfa romeo mito fiat panda alfa romeo giulietta lancia ypsilon

All-new Lancia Ypsilon teased, and this one's not dripping wet

The last time we wrote about the coming all-new Lancia Ypsilon, the French authorities were fishing a pre-production prototype out of a canal. Although the hatchback had been ditched (canal'ed?) near a Peugeot factory, later reporting indicated (translated) the car had been stolen a month earlier near a Stellantis factory in Spain. Recent teases from Lancia aim to put a more attractive wheel forward, the automaker wanting to make the most of what will be an very important offering. This will be the first new Ypsilon since 2011, the first public step in the company's 10-year Renaissance Plan, pathway to a new battery-electric Lancia flagship in 2026 and an electric Delta revival in 2028. The teaser model comes from Lancia's partnership with Italian furniture company Cassina, one of the initial Ypsilon trims reported to be an Edizione Limitata Cassina restricted to 1,906 numbered units, that number honoring the carmaker's founding in 1906. The official shots go big on classic Lancia elegance while referring to the Pu+Ra HPE concept the brand revealed in April 2023 as a design touchstone. There's going to be some intriguing tech as well, one of the shots centered on a glowing blue disc that could sit above the infotainment screen. The word "SALA," also glowing blue on the disc, is Italian for "living room" but signifies Lancia's tech interface, an initialism for Sound, Air, Light, and Augmentation. The in-car assistant is programmed to "centralize the audio, climate control and lighting functions, enabling the environment inside the car to be adapted at the touch of a button or by the sound of your voice." The Ypsilon also brings Stellantis' TAPE, which stands for Tailored Predictive Experiences. This dresses the cabin ambience in one of three modes: Immersive, Wellbeing, and Entertainment.  The Pu+Ra HPE concept went beyond traditional elegance, and it seems the Ypsilon will, too. Instagram user gaetanogiordano63 posted clipped images of the front and back of what looks like an early production model in white. Even though we've seen most of the Ypsilon already, from the canal images, we're surprised by the vastly different impression these spy shots make on us.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Gaetano Giordano (@gaetanogiordano63) More complete answers are on the way shortly, Lancia planning to debut the new crossover in February in battery-electric trim.