The choice of the Stellantis plant in Figueruelas (Zaragoza) for the manufacture of the new Lancia Ypsilon has not come as a surprise. It shares a platform with the Opel Corsa and, like it, it will have an electric version as well as a 'mild hybrid'.
Although many believe that it is the first time that cars of the Italian brand have been produced in Spain, this is not the case. In its day, Seat manufactured two models in Landaben, the Navarrese plant that it had absorbed after the cessation of manufacturing of the BMC Austin and Morris.
The Spanish brand had stopped producing its sportiest model, the Sport Coupé 1800, initially born as the Sport Coupé 1600, in 1975. But the market, still protected from imports, was eager for a car in this category and although Seat offered the Sport 1430 'Bocanegra' and the 128, these were from a lower segment.
There was demand for a segment higher than the latter. Since Fiat no longer had any suitable variant in the catalogue, eyes turned to another brand in the group, the recently acquired Lancia.
This Italian firm had in its catalog the Beta, born in 1972 -the first of the Fiat era, front-wheel drive and transverse front engine- as a saloon but which in 1973 was launched in two variants, Coupé and HPE. It came to have a convertible variant and at the end of its life, the Beta Montecarlo, with the engine in a central position.
In Spain they were called Lancia Coupé and Lancia HPE, without the mention Beta, since this name was already registered. In any case, they were the first Lancias made outside of Italy, after two models had been produced in France in the 1930s.
They were introduced in March 1979 and marketed in May. The bodywork came from Italy, while other components came from national suppliers to comply with the legislation.
Such was the case with engines. The engines available in Italy (1,300, 1,600 and 2,000 cc) were not mounted; it was decided to adapt a block built at the Martorell Technical Center and based on the 1800 of the Sport Coupé.
The motorization, of 1,919 cc and 111 CV -the Italian 2,000 offered 119 CV-, was sufficient. Other smaller alternatives were dropped to position these coupés in the higher segment of domestic cars. It also had to be adapted to place it transversely in these Lancias, which were front-wheel drive.
The 'nationalization' of engines had been a necessity for the Spanish brand, both for legal, economic and fiscal reasons: if it had mounted the Italian two-liter, it would have paid a 35% tax instead of the 22% that it paid with the version of smaller displacement.
The Landaben Lancias had excellent behavior, good braking, offered adequate comfort and great performance, as well as complete equipment. Always in the context of the time in which they were released.
One detail: the HPE version, the most luxurious and distinguished, offered power steering and air conditioning as standard, which were optional on the Coupe. These elements were not even available in the vast majority of models on the market. As for the colors, you could only choose red or brown for the Coupe and metallic gray or blue for the HPE.
The Coupé version was actually a two-seater, since the rear seats could only be used for children or to leave a bag or a briefcase, little else. It is not surprising because it measured only 3.99 meters in length and its width was 1.65 m.
The HPE version, in addition to its large trunk, offered more space for the rear seats and we could talk about a four-seater; the wheelbase had been increased by 19 cm and the overall length was now 4.28 m.
Not many units were made. Just over 1,300 of each of them, which were in the catalog only until 1981.
Seat's Lancia Coupé reached 186 km/h and needed 16.1 seconds to cover 400 meters from a standstill -the 0-100 km/h concept used today had not been born- and 30.3 seconds to complete the 1,000 meters. Regarding fuel consumption, which at the time was measured at constant speed, 8.9 liters per 100 km were established in normal driving and almost double (15.5 liters) in sports.
More modern, sporty and luxurious than the Sport Coupé 1800, these Lancias arrived after four years in which Spanish motorists could not count on a national sports car. But they did it late.
A year after its launch, the market was liberalized and imported cars began to arrive in large numbers and at a reasonable price. Those who to date could have been potential customers for these Lancias opted for other models.
