The italian loving petrolheads in here might find this interesting. I heard in passing from a friend in the motor industry that Lancia are planning a return to the UK market late next year. I took the comment with a large pinch of salt given the unfortunate reputation and past history they have in the eyes of my generation but after some digging it seems there is some truth in the comments. For those that dont know anything about Lancia they have a lot of and heritage and a history of competitive sucess. I remember the later performance models well, such as the Monte-Carlo and the rally winning Stratos and DeltaTurbo. If I remember correctly the Delta has won more group B championships than any other car in history. I also remember the Beta from the late 70`s and its rust problems. At the time to keep costs down Lancia were buying and using Russian sourced steel of (aledgedly)dubious quality, result was that the engine support beam rusted through after about 18 months from new and the engine literaly.....dropped out! Lancia were forced to buy the affected models back and never recovered from the tarnished image, sales plummeted and as a result they withdrew from the UK market in the early 90`s. Seems they have waited a generation before choosing to return but they have had plenty of time to sort out the issues and if Skoda can turn themselves around I am sure Lancia can. Whatever we see from them will be on a par with Alfa-Romeo
Appologies if this is old news.

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/news.php?sid=203&page=1

Hmm.. interesting.. if they did wait a decade for the comeback it is quite a clever marketing strategy. Hopefully they've had enough time to sort out their quality issues!

It would be good to see Lancia back. The Delta Integrale is truly a classic, and only the Italians would have tbeen mad enough to shoe-horn a Ferrari V8 into a front wheel drive family saloon car!!! Would love to have a go in a Thema 8.32

Maybe we should send them a note telling them to use British Steel, not Russian steel this time

I fear Sledge is right though, the legacy of the Beta may still be in the memory of many and this will still affect them for a few years.