Lancia Beta
Encyclopedia
The Lancia Beta is a car produced by Lancia
. It was the first new model introduced by Lancia after it had been taken over by Fiat
in 1969.
, a drastically reworked three-box
saloon variant was released as the Beta Trevi; the Trevi also introduced a controversial new dashboard layout with deeply recessed displays, which was also later used in the third series Berlina. Number built: 194,914 Berlinas plus 36,784 Trevis.
with a 2350 millimetres (92.5 in) wheelbase. The bodywork was developed inhouse by a Lancia team led by Aldo Castagno, with Pietro Castagnero acting as styling consultant. Castagnero had also styled the Beta's predecessor, the Lancia Fulvia
saloon and coupé. Number built: 111,801.
Spider (Zagato
The next version to be launched was a two door convertible
called the Spider (or Zagato
in America). In brochures Lancia spelt the name with a "y" rather than an "i" possibly to differentiate the car from the Alfa Romeo Spider. The Spider used the coupé's shorter wheelbase and featured a targa top
roof panel, a roll-over bar and folding rear roof. Early models did not have a cross-member supporting the roof between the tops of the A to B Pillars. Later models had fixed cross-members. The Spider was designed by Pininfarina but actually built by Zagato
. Number built: 9390.
or shooting-brake
introduced in 1975. HPE stood for High Performance Estate, and then later High Performance Executive. This model had Berlina's longer wheelbase floorpan combined with the coupé's front end and doors. The HPE was also styled in house at Lancia by Castagno's team, with Castagnero as styling consultant. It was renamed the Lancia HPE (without the Beta) from 1979 and was discontinued in 1984. Number built: 71,258.
, one of Monaco's administrative areas). This was a rear-wheel drive mid-engined two-seater sports car that shared very few components with other Betas. Montecarlos were available as fixed head "Coupés" and also as "Spiders". The car was originally designed as a Fiat, a big brother to the Bertone-styled Fiat X1/9
, and was initially called the X1/20 in prototype stage; it is therefore not related to the Beta by design, but used much of its components. First Series cars (1975–1978) were badged Lancia Beta Montecarlo. There was then a 2-year gap in production. The revised Second Series cars (1980–1981) were simply badged as Lancia Montecarlo. In the United States of America the First Series cars were marketed as the Scorpion alongside the rest of the Beta range. Scorpion was used because General Motors had already used the name Monte Carlo for one of their cars. The Scorpion name was a reference to Abarth.
Number of Montecarlos built: 7595.
told journalists that Lancia’s output would be about 40,000 units in 1972 at a time when a volume of 100,000 was needed to cover the fixed costs involved in developing and building the cars. Lancia’s lack of profitability was also evidenced by the absence of replacement models under development at the time of the Fiat take-over, while the Lancia Fulvia
, though much loved by enthusiasts, had been developed with little concern for making it cost-effective to produce: it had therefore been sold at a high price in correspondingly low volumes. The company’s new owner’s objective with the new Beta was to retain the quality image (and resulting price premium) of existing Lancias, while minimising development time and production costs by using in-house Fiat group technology and parts as far as possible. The project adapted a well-regarded existing Fiat engine, fitted transversely and driving the front wheels in line with Fiat’s investment in this configuration during the previous decade. The gear box was a development of a transmission unit then being developed by Fiat-partner Citroën
for a forthcoming model of their own. Above all, and in contrast with the Fulvia, the Beta design was relatively inexpensive to produce in volumes significantly higher than those achieved by predecessor Lancia saloons.
(1881–1937), utilized letters of the Greek alphabet for his early vehicles — such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and so on. "Beta" had been used before, for Lancia’s 1908 car and again for a 1953 bus. Lancia had previously utilized the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, but this was not chosen for the new 1972 Lancia due to the obvious confusion it might cause with Alfa Romeo
.
using MacPherson strut
s in both front and rear with disc brakes on all four wheels. The front wheel drive models were available in a number of engine capacities ranging from 1.3 L to 2.0 L.
As with a number of previous front wheel drive Lancia models, the engine and gearbox were mounted on a subframe that bolted to the underside of the body. However, in the Beta the engine and manual gearbox were fitted transversely in line. This Fiat-inspired configuration not only enabled neat engine bay packaging, but also, by tilting the engine 20 degrees rearwards, the Lancia engineers achieved improved weight transfer over the driven wheels and towards the centre of the car, as well as lowering the centre of gravity. The rear-wheel drive Lancia Montecarlo employed a similar layout except the subframe was mounted at the rear.
On the front-wheel drive Betas, Lancia designed a particularly original independent rear suspension with MacPherson struts attached to parallel transverse links that pivoted on a centrally mounted cross member bolted to the underside of the floorpan. An anti-roll bar was fitted to the floorpan ahead of the rear struts with both ends of the bar trailing back to bolt to the rear struts on each side. This unique design went on to be used in later Lancia models. Unfortunately the design was never patented by Lancia, and consequently inspired similar rear suspension system layouts in other manufacturers' vehicles during the 1980s and 1990s.
The different models all underwent various revisions and improvements over the years. Power steering
specially produced by the German company ZF
became available on certain Left Hand Drive models and was also used on the Gamma
. Electronic ignition became available in 1978. Automatic transmission
became available the same year; the Beta was the first Lancia manufactured with an automatic transmission factory option. In 1981 power steering also became available on certain Right Hand Drive models. Also in that year a fuel-injected version of the 2.0 litre engine became available on certain models.
Late in the model's life Lancia released the Trevi VX, with a Roots-type supercharger fitted between the carburettor and low-compression two-litre engine; the Coupé VX and HPE VX followed soon after. These three variants were known as Volumex models and had the highest performance of all the road-going production Betas, with 135 bhp and substantially increased torque over the normal two-litre 200 newton metre. The Coupé VX and HPE VX can be distinguished from the normal cars by the offset bulge on the hood which is required to clear the new air intake, a spoiler fitted below the front bumper and the rubber rear spoiler. They also have stiffer spring rates. Lancia produced 1272 Coupé VX, 2370 HPE VX and 3900 Trevi VX. Most were left-hand drive (only 186 right-hand drive HPEs and around 150 RHD Coupés were imported to the UK,however the car was also sold in some other RHD markets so exact RHD production remains unknown). Only one right-hand drive Trevi VX was made.
A small number of Trevis were built to run on LPG rather than petrol (gasoline)
.
The main reason for the Fiat label was that despite its unique Lancia chassis, suspension, interior and bodywork, the Beta used a Fiat
-based engine. It is important to note that the Fiat DOHC engine, originally designed by Aurelio Lampredi
, who built engines for Ferrari
until Fiat employed him, was one of the most advanced 4-cylinder engines in Europe at that time. It continued in production well into the 1990s and, in highly developed form, was used in performance road cars such as the Lancia Delta Integrale and Fiat Coupé
.
The Lancia engineers made changes to the engines fitted to the Beta range. These included a bespoke cylinder head which incorporated hemispherical combustion chambers, altered valve timing, new inlet and exhaust manifolds as well as different carburation. These modifications resulted in higher horse power and torque
figures for the engines as used in the Beta. In addition the mounting points on the engine block were different to allow for the transverse installation as opposed to the longitudinal installation utilised by the rear wheel drive Fiats. For these reasons the engines are not interchangeable between Betas and contemporary Fiats such as the Fiat 132.
Unfortunately the Beta gained a reputation for being rust-prone, particularly the 1st Series vehicles (built from 1972–75). A widely circulated rumor states that the cars used Russia
n steel supplied to Fiat in return for building the Lada factory, however these claims have never been verified and the steel problems are more likely due to poor rust proofing techniques as well as the prolonged strikes that plagued Italy at that time than the metal's origin.
The corrosion problems could be structural; for instance where the subframe carrying the engine and gearbox was bolted to the underside of the car. The box section to which the rear of the subframe was mounted could corrode badly causing the subframe to become loose. Although tales of subframes dropping out of vehicles were simply not true, a vehicle with a loose subframe would fail a technical inspection. In actuality, the problem affected almost exclusively 1st Series saloon models and not the Coupé, HPE, Spider or Montecarlo versions.
In the UK (Lancia's largest export market at the time) the company listened to the complaints from its dealers and customers and commenced a campaign to buy back vehicles affected by the subframe problem. Some of these vehicles were 6 years old or older and belonged to 2nd or 3rd owners. Customers were invited to present their cars to a Lancia dealer for an inspection. If their vehicle was affected by the subframe problem, the customer was offered a part exchange deal to buy another Lancia or Fiat car. The cars that failed the inspection were scrapped. However, on 9 April 1980 the Daily Mirror and TV programmes (such as That's Life!
) reported on the issue. There were false claims that the problem persisted in later cars by showing photographs of scrapped 1st Series saloons, referring to them as being newer than five and six years old. Other contemporary manufacturers (British, French, Japanese and German) whose cars also suffered from corrosion were not treated as harshly. This was possibly because Lancia was seen as a luxury car brand at that time and consequently expectations were high. Ironically, Lancia had already introduced one year previously a 6-year anti-corrosion warranty - an automotive first in the UK. Whilst later Betas (2nd Series cars) had reinforced subframe mounting points and post-1979 cars were better protected from the elements, these issues damaged the whole marque's sales success on most export markets. However, thanks to its strong driver appeal, the Beta still enjoys a dedicated following today. Surviving examples make an interesting classic car choice for the enthusiast.
produced three concept cars on Beta mechanicals. Two were sedans based on the Berlina—one unusual in having four gull-wing door
s -- the other was an open top two-seater based on the Coupé.
In 1980, Giorgetto Giugiaro
built a concept car on Montecarlo mechanicals, called the Medusa. Unusually for a mid-engined car it had four doors, and the body was shaped to have a very low drag coefficient for the time.
Lancia built one very special variant of the Beta themselves. The twin-engined Trevi Bimotore was used for tests related to Lancia's new four-wheel drive rally cars; it was powered by one Volumex engine under the hood driving the front wheels, and another in the back driving the rear wheels, with air scoops in the rear doors. The two gearboxes were linked, and an electronically controlled throttle replaced the mechanical system so the two engines worked together.
would commence Spanish
production of the Lancia Beta. Three years later Beta production by SEAT indeed commenced at the company's recently acquired Pamplona plant
, though only the Coupé and HPE lift-back versions were included. The arrangement was short lived from 1979 up to 1980 because of a falling out in the early 1980s between Fiat
, Lancia's parent company, and the Spanish government over the increasingly urgent need for investment to upgrade the SEAT range. In 1982 Volkswagen
became SEAT's major auto-industry partner, and under the new regime the plant that had assembled the Lancia Beta, SEAT Panda and SEAT 124
switched to building the Volkswagen Polo
.
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
. It was the first new model introduced by Lancia after it had been taken over by Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
in 1969.
Berlina
The first body style to appear, and the most common was the four-door berlina (sedan), with a wheelbase of 2540 millimetres (100 in) and 'fastback' styling giving the appearance of a hatchback, although in fact it had a conventional boot like a saloon. This practice was common in the industry at the time as manufacturers deemed that hatchback designs would not be accepted in this market sector.Trevi
Late in the Beta's life, with assistance from PininfarinaPininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
, a drastically reworked three-box
Three-box styling
Three-box design is a broad automotive styling term describing a coupé, sedan, notchback or hatchback where — when viewed in profile — principal volumes are articulated into three separate compartments or boxes: engine, passenger and cargo....
saloon variant was released as the Beta Trevi; the Trevi also introduced a controversial new dashboard layout with deeply recessed displays, which was also later used in the third series Berlina. Number built: 194,914 Berlinas plus 36,784 Trevis.
Coupé
The second style to appear was a 2+2 two-door coupéCoupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
with a 2350 millimetres (92.5 in) wheelbase. The bodywork was developed inhouse by a Lancia team led by Aldo Castagno, with Pietro Castagnero acting as styling consultant. Castagnero had also styled the Beta's predecessor, the Lancia Fulvia
Lancia Fulvia
The Lancia Fulvia is an Italian car introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 by Lancia. It was produced by that company through 1976. Fulvias are notable for their role in automobile racing history, including winning the International Rally Championship in 1972...
saloon and coupé. Number built: 111,801.
Spider (ZagatoLancia ZagatoVarious sports and "fast touring" Lancia cars have had bodies built or designed by the great Italian design house Zagato. These include the 1953–60 Lancia Appia Zagato V4 and the 1958–1960s Lancia Flaminia Zagato V6, both with aluminum bodies designed and built by Zagato, and the 1967-1972 Lancia...
)
The next version to be launched was a two door convertibleConvertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
called the Spider (or Zagato
Lancia Zagato
Various sports and "fast touring" Lancia cars have had bodies built or designed by the great Italian design house Zagato. These include the 1953–60 Lancia Appia Zagato V4 and the 1958–1960s Lancia Flaminia Zagato V6, both with aluminum bodies designed and built by Zagato, and the 1967-1972 Lancia...
in America). In brochures Lancia spelt the name with a "y" rather than an "i" possibly to differentiate the car from the Alfa Romeo Spider. The Spider used the coupé's shorter wheelbase and featured a targa top
Targa top
Targa top, targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsche AG....
roof panel, a roll-over bar and folding rear roof. Early models did not have a cross-member supporting the roof between the tops of the A to B Pillars. Later models had fixed cross-members. The Spider was designed by Pininfarina but actually built by Zagato
Zagato
Zagato is a design consultancy and engineering services company situated just outside Milan, Italy.The company's premises occupy an area of , of which are covered....
. Number built: 9390.
HPE
The Beta HPE was a three-door sporting estateStation wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
or shooting-brake
Shooting-brake
Shooting-brake, shooting brake or shooting break is a term for a car body style that has evolved through several distinct meanings over its history....
introduced in 1975. HPE stood for High Performance Estate, and then later High Performance Executive. This model had Berlina's longer wheelbase floorpan combined with the coupé's front end and doors. The HPE was also styled in house at Lancia by Castagno's team, with Castagnero as styling consultant. It was renamed the Lancia HPE (without the Beta) from 1979 and was discontinued in 1984. Number built: 71,258.
Montecarlo
The final variant was the Pininfarina designed – and built – two door Lancia Montecarlo (note that the vehicle was named "Montecarlo" written as one word, not Monte CarloMonte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, one of Monaco's administrative areas). This was a rear-wheel drive mid-engined two-seater sports car that shared very few components with other Betas. Montecarlos were available as fixed head "Coupés" and also as "Spiders". The car was originally designed as a Fiat, a big brother to the Bertone-styled Fiat X1/9
Fiat X1/9
The Fiat X1/9 is a two-seater mid-engined sports car designed by Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from 1972-1982 and subsequently by Bertone from 1982-1989....
, and was initially called the X1/20 in prototype stage; it is therefore not related to the Beta by design, but used much of its components. First Series cars (1975–1978) were badged Lancia Beta Montecarlo. There was then a 2-year gap in production. The revised Second Series cars (1980–1981) were simply badged as Lancia Montecarlo. In the United States of America the First Series cars were marketed as the Scorpion alongside the rest of the Beta range. Scorpion was used because General Motors had already used the name Monte Carlo for one of their cars. The Scorpion name was a reference to Abarth.
Number of Montecarlos built: 7595.
Origins
When Fiat acquired Lancia in 1969, the company had been without a Technical Director for a year, no successor having been appointed following the death of Antonio Fessia a year earlier. At the Beta’s launch late in 1972 Fiat chief Gianni AgnelliGianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
told journalists that Lancia’s output would be about 40,000 units in 1972 at a time when a volume of 100,000 was needed to cover the fixed costs involved in developing and building the cars. Lancia’s lack of profitability was also evidenced by the absence of replacement models under development at the time of the Fiat take-over, while the Lancia Fulvia
Lancia Fulvia
The Lancia Fulvia is an Italian car introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 by Lancia. It was produced by that company through 1976. Fulvias are notable for their role in automobile racing history, including winning the International Rally Championship in 1972...
, though much loved by enthusiasts, had been developed with little concern for making it cost-effective to produce: it had therefore been sold at a high price in correspondingly low volumes. The company’s new owner’s objective with the new Beta was to retain the quality image (and resulting price premium) of existing Lancias, while minimising development time and production costs by using in-house Fiat group technology and parts as far as possible. The project adapted a well-regarded existing Fiat engine, fitted transversely and driving the front wheels in line with Fiat’s investment in this configuration during the previous decade. The gear box was a development of a transmission unit then being developed by Fiat-partner Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
for a forthcoming model of their own. Above all, and in contrast with the Fulvia, the Beta design was relatively inexpensive to produce in volumes significantly higher than those achieved by predecessor Lancia saloons.
The name
The company chose the name Beta for a new vehicle to be launched in 1972. The choice of name symbolised a new beginning as it reflected the fact that the company’s founder, Vincenzo LanciaVincenzo Lancia
Vincenzo Lancia was an Italian pilot, engineer and founder of Lancia.Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin...
(1881–1937), utilized letters of the Greek alphabet for his early vehicles — such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and so on. "Beta" had been used before, for Lancia’s 1908 car and again for a 1953 bus. Lancia had previously utilized the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, but this was not chosen for the new 1972 Lancia due to the obvious confusion it might cause with Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
.
Features
All versions of the car came with DOHC engines, five speed gearboxes, rack and pinion steering, fully independent suspensionIndependent suspension
Independent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
using MacPherson strut
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
s in both front and rear with disc brakes on all four wheels. The front wheel drive models were available in a number of engine capacities ranging from 1.3 L to 2.0 L.
As with a number of previous front wheel drive Lancia models, the engine and gearbox were mounted on a subframe that bolted to the underside of the body. However, in the Beta the engine and manual gearbox were fitted transversely in line. This Fiat-inspired configuration not only enabled neat engine bay packaging, but also, by tilting the engine 20 degrees rearwards, the Lancia engineers achieved improved weight transfer over the driven wheels and towards the centre of the car, as well as lowering the centre of gravity. The rear-wheel drive Lancia Montecarlo employed a similar layout except the subframe was mounted at the rear.
On the front-wheel drive Betas, Lancia designed a particularly original independent rear suspension with MacPherson struts attached to parallel transverse links that pivoted on a centrally mounted cross member bolted to the underside of the floorpan. An anti-roll bar was fitted to the floorpan ahead of the rear struts with both ends of the bar trailing back to bolt to the rear struts on each side. This unique design went on to be used in later Lancia models. Unfortunately the design was never patented by Lancia, and consequently inspired similar rear suspension system layouts in other manufacturers' vehicles during the 1980s and 1990s.
The different models all underwent various revisions and improvements over the years. Power steering
Power steering
Power steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
specially produced by the German company ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
became available on certain Left Hand Drive models and was also used on the Gamma
Lancia Gamma
The Lancia Gamma is an executive car from Italian Fiat Auto's up-scale Lancia marque. Presented in 1976 at the Geneva Motor Show as Lancia's new flagship, it filled the void in Lancia's lineup left by the demise of the Flavia...
. Electronic ignition became available in 1978. Automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
became available the same year; the Beta was the first Lancia manufactured with an automatic transmission factory option. In 1981 power steering also became available on certain Right Hand Drive models. Also in that year a fuel-injected version of the 2.0 litre engine became available on certain models.
Late in the model's life Lancia released the Trevi VX, with a Roots-type supercharger fitted between the carburettor and low-compression two-litre engine; the Coupé VX and HPE VX followed soon after. These three variants were known as Volumex models and had the highest performance of all the road-going production Betas, with 135 bhp and substantially increased torque over the normal two-litre 200 newton metre. The Coupé VX and HPE VX can be distinguished from the normal cars by the offset bulge on the hood which is required to clear the new air intake, a spoiler fitted below the front bumper and the rubber rear spoiler. They also have stiffer spring rates. Lancia produced 1272 Coupé VX, 2370 HPE VX and 3900 Trevi VX. Most were left-hand drive (only 186 right-hand drive HPEs and around 150 RHD Coupés were imported to the UK,however the car was also sold in some other RHD markets so exact RHD production remains unknown). Only one right-hand drive Trevi VX was made.
A small number of Trevis were built to run on LPG rather than petrol (gasoline)
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
.
Lancia with Fiat elements
For some the Beta was not a Lancia but rather a Fiat. However, it should be noted that Lancia were allowed a surprising amount of autonomy from Fiat in the development of the Beta. The levels of technology in the Beta described in the previous section also highlight the sheer amount of bespoke engineering that went into the then new Lancia.The main reason for the Fiat label was that despite its unique Lancia chassis, suspension, interior and bodywork, the Beta used a Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
-based engine. It is important to note that the Fiat DOHC engine, originally designed by Aurelio Lampredi
Aurelio Lampredi
Aurelio Lampredi was an Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer.Born in Livorno, he began his career at Piaggio, makers of the Vespa scooter, but quickly moved up to larger engines...
, who built engines for Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
until Fiat employed him, was one of the most advanced 4-cylinder engines in Europe at that time. It continued in production well into the 1990s and, in highly developed form, was used in performance road cars such as the Lancia Delta Integrale and Fiat Coupé
Fiat Coupé
The Fiat Coupé was a coupé produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1993 and 2000. The car was introduced at Brussels Motor Show in 1993....
.
The Lancia engineers made changes to the engines fitted to the Beta range. These included a bespoke cylinder head which incorporated hemispherical combustion chambers, altered valve timing, new inlet and exhaust manifolds as well as different carburation. These modifications resulted in higher horse power and torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
figures for the engines as used in the Beta. In addition the mounting points on the engine block were different to allow for the transverse installation as opposed to the longitudinal installation utilised by the rear wheel drive Fiats. For these reasons the engines are not interchangeable between Betas and contemporary Fiats such as the Fiat 132.
Engines
| Model | Years | Engine | Displacement | Power | Fuel system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1400 | 1972-74 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1438 cc | 90 PS | carburettor |
| 1600 | 1972-74 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1592 cc | 100 PS-106 PS | carburettor |
| 1800 | 1972-74 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1756 cc | 110 PS-120 PS | carburettor |
| 1300 | 1974-75 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1297 cc | 82 PS | carburettor |
| 1600 | 1975-84 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1585 cc | 100 PS | carburettor |
| 2000 | 1975-84 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1995 cc | 119 PS | carburettor |
| 1300 | 1976-79 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1301 cc | 85 PS | carburettor |
| 2000 i.e. | 1980-84 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1995 cc | 122 PS | fuel injection Fuel injection Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s.... |
| 2000 VX | 1982-84 | I4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... DOHC |
1995 cc | 135 PS | carburettor, supercharger Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Legacy
The Beta was very well received by the motoring press and public when launched. The various models were praised for their performance and their good handling and roadholding. They were widely regarded as a "driver's car" with plenty of character. The Beta was competitively priced in export markets and managed to become the highest ever selling Lancia model up to that point.Unfortunately the Beta gained a reputation for being rust-prone, particularly the 1st Series vehicles (built from 1972–75). A widely circulated rumor states that the cars used Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n steel supplied to Fiat in return for building the Lada factory, however these claims have never been verified and the steel problems are more likely due to poor rust proofing techniques as well as the prolonged strikes that plagued Italy at that time than the metal's origin.
The corrosion problems could be structural; for instance where the subframe carrying the engine and gearbox was bolted to the underside of the car. The box section to which the rear of the subframe was mounted could corrode badly causing the subframe to become loose. Although tales of subframes dropping out of vehicles were simply not true, a vehicle with a loose subframe would fail a technical inspection. In actuality, the problem affected almost exclusively 1st Series saloon models and not the Coupé, HPE, Spider or Montecarlo versions.
In the UK (Lancia's largest export market at the time) the company listened to the complaints from its dealers and customers and commenced a campaign to buy back vehicles affected by the subframe problem. Some of these vehicles were 6 years old or older and belonged to 2nd or 3rd owners. Customers were invited to present their cars to a Lancia dealer for an inspection. If their vehicle was affected by the subframe problem, the customer was offered a part exchange deal to buy another Lancia or Fiat car. The cars that failed the inspection were scrapped. However, on 9 April 1980 the Daily Mirror and TV programmes (such as That's Life!
That's Life!
That's Life! was a magazine-style television series on BBC1 between 26 May 1973 and 19 June 1994, presented by Esther Rantzen throughout the entire run, with various changes of co-presenters. The show was generally recorded about an hour prior to transmission, which was originally on Saturday...
) reported on the issue. There were false claims that the problem persisted in later cars by showing photographs of scrapped 1st Series saloons, referring to them as being newer than five and six years old. Other contemporary manufacturers (British, French, Japanese and German) whose cars also suffered from corrosion were not treated as harshly. This was possibly because Lancia was seen as a luxury car brand at that time and consequently expectations were high. Ironically, Lancia had already introduced one year previously a 6-year anti-corrosion warranty - an automotive first in the UK. Whilst later Betas (2nd Series cars) had reinforced subframe mounting points and post-1979 cars were better protected from the elements, these issues damaged the whole marque's sales success on most export markets. However, thanks to its strong driver appeal, the Beta still enjoys a dedicated following today. Surviving examples make an interesting classic car choice for the enthusiast.
Specials
Giovanni MichelottiGiovanni Michelotti
Giovanni Michelotti was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Triumph and BMW marques...
produced three concept cars on Beta mechanicals. Two were sedans based on the Berlina—one unusual in having four gull-wing door
Gull-wing door
Gull-wing door is an automotive industry term describing car doors that are hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by the 1952 Mercedes-Benz 300SL race car and its road-legal version introduced in 1954....
s -- the other was an open top two-seater based on the Coupé.
In 1980, Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...
built a concept car on Montecarlo mechanicals, called the Medusa. Unusually for a mid-engined car it had four doors, and the body was shaped to have a very low drag coefficient for the time.
Lancia built one very special variant of the Beta themselves. The twin-engined Trevi Bimotore was used for tests related to Lancia's new four-wheel drive rally cars; it was powered by one Volumex engine under the hood driving the front wheels, and another in the back driving the rear wheels, with air scoops in the rear doors. The two gearboxes were linked, and an electronically controlled throttle replaced the mechanical system so the two engines worked together.
Pamplona assembly
There are few records of Lancias ever being assembled outside Italy but, exceptionally, Betas were. It was announced in August 1976 that SEATSEAT
SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....
would commence Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
production of the Lancia Beta. Three years later Beta production by SEAT indeed commenced at the company's recently acquired Pamplona plant
Authi
The Authi car company of Pamplona, Spain, was founded in 1965 as a result of a collaboration between BMC and NMQ ....
, though only the Coupé and HPE lift-back versions were included. The arrangement was short lived from 1979 up to 1980 because of a falling out in the early 1980s between Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
, Lancia's parent company, and the Spanish government over the increasingly urgent need for investment to upgrade the SEAT range. In 1982 Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
became SEAT's major auto-industry partner, and under the new regime the plant that had assembled the Lancia Beta, SEAT Panda and SEAT 124
SEAT 124
The SEAT 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Spanish manufacturer SEAT in its Barcelona Zona Franca and Landaben Pamplona plants between 1968 and 1980...
switched to building the Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....
.