Lancia Megagamma
Encyclopedia
The Lancia Megagamma minivan is a concept car
designed by Italdesign
in 1978 and introduced the same year at the Turin Motor Show. It can be seen as the forerunner of modern MPVs
. The car never reached production, because it was seen as too risky by Lancia's parent company Fiat and its CEO
Umberto Agnelli
.
This concept itself addressed the needs of families, with a roomy cabin in a compact package.
The Nissan Prairie
(1981) was the first modern production MPV following the Megagamma idea, later followed by models like the Mitsubishi Chariot
, Renault Espace
, Honda Shuttle
, Toyota Sprinter Caribbean
, Dodge Caravan
, Plymouth Voyager
, Renault Scenic
and Volkswagen Touran
. Lancia's own MPVs are the Zeta and current Phedra.
The Megagamma has a Lancia SOHC 2.5 litre flat-4
engine equipped with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection producing 140 PS at 5400 rpm and
209 newton metres (154.2 ft·lbf) at 3000 rpm of torque
. It was a front engined, front-wheel drive
vehicle based on the Lancia Gamma
platform.
Many of the seminal packaging lessons of the Megagamma were incorporated by Giorgetto Giugiaro
in the 1983 Fiat Uno
supermini. There were also significant styling similarities. Its tall car / high seating packaging is imitated by every small car today. The Uno reversed the trend for lower and lower built cars. It showed that not just low sleek cars could be aerodynamic with a Cd of just 0.34, but small, roomy, boxy well packaged cars could be too. In 1984 it was voted European Car of the Year
.
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
designed by Italdesign
Italdesign Giugiaro
Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A is an automobile design and engineering company based in Moncalieri, Italy founded in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani as Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A...
in 1978 and introduced the same year at the Turin Motor Show. It can be seen as the forerunner of modern MPVs
Minivan
Minivan is a type of van designed for personal use. Minivans are typically either two-box or one box designs for maximum interior volume – and are taller than a sedan, hatchback, or a station wagon....
. The car never reached production, because it was seen as too risky by Lancia's parent company Fiat and its CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Umberto Agnelli
Umberto Agnelli
Umberto Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football...
.
This concept itself addressed the needs of families, with a roomy cabin in a compact package.
The Nissan Prairie
Nissan Prairie
The second generation of the Prairie was introduced September 1988, and it was renamed the Nissan Axxess when sold in North America. The vehicle sold for six years in Canada, and in 1990 only in the United States....
(1981) was the first modern production MPV following the Megagamma idea, later followed by models like the Mitsubishi Chariot
Mitsubishi Chariot
The Mitsubishi Chariot, is a five door, five/seven seat compact MPV produced by Mitsubishi Motors of Japan from 1983 to 2003. It was based on the SSW concept car first exhibited at the 23rd Tokyo Motor Show in 1979, and named for the battle chariots used during the times of the ancient Greek and...
, Renault Espace
Renault Espace
The Renault Espace is a large MPV from French car-maker Renault. Generations 1-3 were sold under the Renault brand but manufactured by Matra. The current fourth generation model, which seats seven passengers, is an all-Renault product; the Renault Grand Espace is a long-wheelbase version with...
, Honda Shuttle
Honda Odyssey (international)
The Honda Odyssey is a minivan manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 1994, marketed worldwide, and now in its fourth generation in North America and Japan....
, Toyota Sprinter Caribbean
Toyota Tercel
The Tercel is a subcompact manufactured from 1978 to 2000 across five generations, in five body configurations — sized between the Corolla and the Starlet...
, Dodge Caravan
Dodge Caravan
The Dodge Caravan is a family minivan manufactured by Chrysler Group LLC and sold under its Dodge brand. Along with its nameplate variant, the Plymouth Voyager, the Caravan was introduced for the 1984 model year. In 1987, the Dodge Grand Caravan long-wheelbase model was introduced and sold...
, Plymouth Voyager
Plymouth Voyager
In 1984, the Voyager name was applied to Plymouth's variant of Chrysler's all new minivan. This Voyager used the Chrysler S platform, which was derived from the K-platform . In addition to using a derived platform, the Voyager shared many components with the K-cars, most notably the interior...
, Renault Scenic
Renault Scénic
The Renault Scénic is a compact MPV produced by French automaker Renault, the first to be labelled as such in Europe. It is based on the chassis of the Mégane small family car. It became 1997 European Car of the Year on its launch in late 1996...
and Volkswagen Touran
Volkswagen Touran
The Volkswagen Touran is a compact MPV based on a vertically-stretched fifth generation Volkswagen Golf Mk5, and sold in Europe and other select markets. It was launched in 2003 to fill a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup, below the Sharan large MPV...
. Lancia's own MPVs are the Zeta and current Phedra.
The Megagamma has a Lancia SOHC 2.5 litre flat-4
Flat-4
A flat-4 or horizontally opposed-4 is a flat engine with four cylinders arranged horizontally in two banks of two cylinders on each side of a central crankcase...
engine equipped with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection producing 140 PS at 5400 rpm and
209 newton metres (154.2 ft·lbf) at 3000 rpm of 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....
. It was a front engined, front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
vehicle based on the Lancia 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...
platform.
Many of the seminal packaging lessons of the Megagamma were incorporated by 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...
in the 1983 Fiat Uno
Fiat Uno
The Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
supermini. There were also significant styling similarities. Its tall car / high seating packaging is imitated by every small car today. The Uno reversed the trend for lower and lower built cars. It showed that not just low sleek cars could be aerodynamic with a Cd of just 0.34, but small, roomy, boxy well packaged cars could be too. In 1984 it was voted European Car of the Year
European Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...
.