Lancia is (almost) no more, but in a sense you can consider the modern Fiat 500 as the replacement for the Y10 from the 80s and 90s. The hip little one was upgraded more often, but got its most striking facelift in 1992.
Happy new year everybody! We from ‘Facelift Friday’ closed 2020 with an Italian and would like to start 2021 that way. That’s where the similarities end, because in every other respect the Ferrari 488 and Lancia Y10 are direct opposites. The small Lancia was pushed forward in 1985 as the successor to the legendary Autobianchi A112. In a number of countries that car had been called ‘Lancia A112’ since the early 1980s, while newcomer A10 in other countries would continue to be known as Autobianchi for a while.
Also in terms of the model name, the small Lancia is a somewhat foggy whole. This model is known internationally as ‘Y10’, but simply ‘Y’ or the longer ‘Ypsilon’ were also used. Incidentally, the Dutch importer did his utmost to maintain that confusion. Judging from this brochure, ‘Ypsilon’ was used in 1989, although the car in question really does adorn ‘Y10’. Later the brochure spoke about ‘Y10’, while the better known ‘Ypsilon’ was undoubtedly well established by then.
The car itself was undeniably charming. The very square small Lancia looks sympathetic from the start, but is at the same time a bit more distinguished than its equally compact contemporaries. A striking feature is the rear, which ends abruptly in an apparently straight line. As if it was necessary to accentuate that, Lancia chose to have the tailgate in a contrasting color. This was often black, but later (action) models also regularly received an outrageous color pattern.
Flattened
The sharp edges of that square design were somewhat smoothed in 1992. The original, rather blocky nose was an excellent fit for the larger Lancia models in the mid-1980s, but that changed with the arrival of the Dedra. That is why Lancia decided to equip its smallest model with a similar nose from 1992 onwards. The grille, which initially covered the entire space between the bonnet and the front bumper, was flattened and given a pentagonal shape. The headlights, traditionally the same height as the grille to which they connect, shrank logically. The remaining space was filled with body-colored sheet metal and the front fenders and bonnet remained intact.
At the rear, they also managed to create a significantly different appearance with minimal interventions. First of all, the number plate was relegated to the rear bumper, so that space was created between the tailgate and rear bumper for a design-technical splurge. In the case of the Y10, this consisted of considerably wider rear lights that did not end straight on the inside, but with an oblique line. The A-shaped recess between those immense units was filled with the famous Lancia logo, which unfortunately we are rarely seen on the street today.