The original Lancia Thema appeared in 1984 and would last for 10 years. In 1988 it received a facelift, in which the layout of the front in particular was thoroughly overhauled.
‘Lancia Thema’ is a resounding name in Italian car history, but it has never actually been a completely standalone model. With the last Lancia Thema, that of 2011, that is obvious. The slightly modified Chrysler 300 is a car that enthusiasts of the brand are eager to forget. The first Thema was a technical brother of the Fiat Croma, Alfa Romeo 164 and Saab 9000, but has considerably more individual character.
Stacked
The Thema appeared in 1984 as Lancia’s new top model. It was a fairly hefty sedan with a pretty traditional coach, but the correct proportions and tasteful detailing made it a real Lancia. The ‘stacked’ taillights, for example, are typically Thema, as is the chrome that outlines each side window separately.
The facade of an early Thema, on the other hand, is less characteristic. The grille, which is split into two parts, is indeed typical Lancia, but we often saw the almost square headlights and turn signals placed on the corner next to it.
“I don’t want to make a splash, but mine has a Ferrari engine”
New facade
That changed in 1988. Lancia provided the Thema, which received a real Ferrari engine as 8.32, with a newly classified front in that year. Do not immediately expect round headlights and a grille to the bottom of the bumper, but within the framework of the modest style of the time, a lot was renovated. The headlamps became wider and flatter and now themselves took the place previously reserved for the direction indicators. Those turn signals were now wedged between the new binoculars and the front bumper, although that was hardly noticeable because of the dark glass. The result: a theme that is undeniably more modern and also remarkably much broader.
The Theme on the sliding plate above is incidentally a copy from after 1992, when the Lancia, which had been tightly packed four years earlier, received a subtle facelift. These very last copies are recognizable by their slightly different front bumper; the headlights remained intact.