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A Top Gear Take on Lancia

November 19, 2012 by Matt

Lancia Montecarlo Monte Carlo Scorpion Red

Really been jonesing for one of these lately. Maybe not a mid-engined Lancia Montecarlo (sold in the US as the Lancia Scorpion) as shown above, but for a Lancia in general.

What’s the appeal? Imagine a car with the cachet, élan and romance of a classic Alfa Romeo, but rare as hen’s teeth, and even less practical.

What’s attractive about an impractical car? Well, why are we often drawn to others so dissimilar to ourselves? Where’s the “practicality” in that kind of arrangement? Sometimes we just want the heartbreakers, and there are few marques able to break hearts quite as effectively as Lancia.

A few years ago, the Top Gear presenters asked themselves which automaker had produced the largest number of great cars, and after some deliberation, they (rather surprisingly) passed over such legends as Ferrari, BMW and Jaguar and settled on Lancia. The following couple of clips span only part of the show’s coverage of the brand, but they illustrate at least somewhat the cars’ appeal to obscure car nuts like myself, and if nothing else showcase some lovely shots of classic Lancias in motion.

This clip features a number of early Lancias, most prominently the achingly pretty Fulvia and stubby Montecarlo:

And a nice feature on the Stratos rally supercar:

Filed under: Lancia, Media

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