Lancia Ypsilon gets a fresh coat of lipstick
We'll forgive you if you've written off the Lancia Ypsilon. That is, assuming it was ever on your radar screen in
the first place. The supermini is little more than a gussied-up, five-door version of the Fiat 500. It was withdrawn from all but its home market of Italy last year, soldiering on as the last vestige of a once-great marque. But FCA hasn't written it off just yet. In fact, it's preparing to roll out an updated version at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week.
Though full details and photos from all the angles have yet to be revealed, what we (or at least our Italian cousins) appear to have on our hands is an incrementally handsomer, if more conventional-looking, version of the current model that was introduced in 2011. The front-end has undergone a proper facelift, while that pinched C-pillar and hidden rear door handles carry over. It's apparently a little wider, but rides on the same wheelbase and bears the same overall length as the outgoing version. Lancia promises a refreshed interior as well, with updated equipment and ergonomics.
The new version of what Lancia bills as the "Fashion City Car" will be offered in three trim levels – dubbed Silver, Gold, and Platinum – and with a variety engine options. There's a 1.2-liter four with 69 horsepower, the 900cc TwinAir turbo with 85 hp, and a 1.3-liter Multijet diesel with 95 hp. Flex-fuel models will be offered as well, burning LPG in the 1.2 or methanol in the TwinAir.
The new Lancia is being launched in a campaign featuring Polish-Italian model Kasia Smutniak. It arrives on the occasion of the Ypsilon's 30th anniversary, dating back to the three-door, first-
generation model designed by Enrico Fumia and launched back in 1996.
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generation model designed by Enrico Fumia and launched back in 1996.
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