A good performance harder to find than an 8.32
It was not as bad as with the last Lancia Thema (a rebadged Chrysler 300) with the first generation, but brand supporters thought that was no longer a real Lancia. That does not alter the fact that it is a stylish, undervalued youngtimer. And you don’t even have to take the exotic 8.32 with Ferrari engine: modesty was still highly regarded in the 80s.
For young-timer and classic enthusiasts with a well-filled purse, life is clear. An old Ferrari? That’s how it was found. A fat Mercedes? What color do you want? However, if you’re looking for the cars that used to roll out of the factory by the thousands, it becomes a completely different story. After all, unlike their exotic peers, these models were not pampered in a heated garage, but were exposed to the rigors of everyday life. Try to find a neat Opel Kadett GSi in 2022, or the direct object in this article: a Lancia Thema. The above story is also confirmed with the great Italian.
Lancia Thema 8.32, with Ferrari V8 driving the front wheels.
If you’re looking for the once exclusive 8.32 to which the obstinate Enzo did not give his blessing and which was therefore not allowed to bear the (nick) name Ferrari, then the offer is surprisingly large. In fact, who scours the internet in search of a ‘primordial theme’, soon discovers that roughly half of the cars on offer are provided with 8.32 shields. In the offer on our site even the vast majority! And to think that only about 4,000 were built, only one percent of the total Thema production.
Themed Station Wagon relatively easy to find
Lancia Themed Station Wagon.
A station wagon is also still relatively easy to find, although Pininfarina built few copies of the model that bore both the Station Wagon name and the name of the grandmaster himself. This was more of a luxury horse than a workhorse, so this version also occupied a special place in the range. However, the versions that mainly left the Lancia showrooms at the time had no finely tuned and maintenance-sensitive Ferrari eight-cylinder engine in the front, no electrically operated spoiler in the trunk, no luxurious leather upholstery from Poltona Frau and no station wagon rear that – believe it or not ! – had less space to offer than the trunk of the sedan. They were cars destined for a productive and intensive life, with fabric upholstery that quickly discolored in the sunlight and a poorly finished dashboard with plastics that slowly disintegrated.
Theme also as modest 2.0 or turbo diesel
This may have been Lancia’s top model, in many cases a simple atmospheric two-liter with only 113 catalytic horsepower could be found under the hood. Customers could also opt for a two-liter turbo engine, a Euro or Arese V6 or a turbo diesel, but the modest two-liter petrol engine actually fits perfectly with the modest Thema. In the 80s, luxury was still very common even in the upper middle class, even if there was a Lancia logo in the grille.
Stylish and understated
Today you are more likely to be struck by lightning than to run into a sparsely equipped Theme. Skeptics will say it looks dull and uses interchangeable Fiat technology, which, strictly speaking, is true. But his modesty does him justice. And while driving it quickly becomes clear that this is definitely not a dime a dozen car. For example, the two-litre Lampredi – which also served in the Beta and Delta – offers excellent running properties thanks to its two balance shafts. Only the somewhat wooden suspension at low speed and the somewhat shabby-looking plastic in the interior stand out in a negative way. The rest exudes class, as you would expect from a Lancia. With its sleek and businesslike Giugiaro design, the modest chrome trim around the windows and the elegant-looking paintwork ‘Grigio Quarzo Metallico’, it looks luxurious without being too thick on top. And compared to his blood relatives, he also appears stylish and modest.
Developed with Saab 9000, Fiat Croma and also Alfa Romeo participated with the 164
The original Thema may not be as incestuous as its contemporary namesake, but the accountants of the Fiat group also set the course for this model. The new model with the internal designation Y9 was developed in the early 1980s together with Saab (9000) and Fiat (Croma). Ultimately, these models only shared the underbody, the windscreen and the doors, but mother Fiat and daughter Lancia (which was allowed to show the Thema to the world in October 1984 as the first descendant of this joint project) did exchange a lot of technology with each other. Alfa Romeo also joined in later for the development of its new flagship 164.
Only one car
The joint development made the large Lancia cheaper, but also less unique. The Thema had to appeal to everyone and in one effort by both the cleverly put together, but now obsolete Beta and the quirky Gamma. Typical Lancia features much appreciated by fans, such as liftback bodies, extravagant coupé shapes and boxer engines, are unceremoniously retired by mother Fiat. The new Lancia was thus indeed just a car, which was previously unimaginable. In hindsight, that got in the way rather than helped him. After the first owners – well-established citizens with a penchant for Valpolicella and the early Renaissance – the Themes soon passed into the hands of successively people who had outgrown their Fiat Regata and pizzeria owners, who mainly needed space and saw their chance to to buy a large sedan for little money.
Hoping for lovers
The fact that a Lancia has its needs in terms of maintenance was sometimes overlooked. And whatever the new-fangled owners did, this car did rust anyway. Contemporary young-timer enthusiasts must therefore have a lot of dedication and commitment to keep the last copies of this model series alive. Since, rationally, the fitting of a new starter motor is no longer worthwhile in view of the bargain prices that the great Italian is selling, we can only hope that there are willing enthusiasts who will take care of the latest Themes. Otherwise, soon no one will know what really happened in 1984.
This article was previously published in 2015 in AutoWeek Classics
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl