Lancia’s only car on sale today, the third-generation Ypsilon subcompact hatchback, has been around since 2011. sells surprisingly well in his native Italy, the only country in which the brand operates, but Lancia has more ambitious plans for its future. Usually car manufacturers regain people’s enthusiasm with concepts, and Lancia has embraced that strategy this week, unveiling a new design alongside an updated logo. Only it can’t really be considered a car.
Yes, Lancia, a brand that hasn’t introduced a new vehicle in more than a decade, has chosen to go beyond the very achievable goal of “car” and go straight into the realm of smoke.. It’s called Pu+Ra Zero. “Zero” probably refers to the amount of harmful emissions it releases into the atmosphere. Not because it’s electric, but because it might as well not exist.
i’m tough, I know, but I’m only complaining because I care. Lancia says the Pu+Ra Zero represents “the first event of the new Lancia era.” The company claims that we see hallmarks that will reappear in the next models. presumably related with the “grid”, a shiny black chevron large size adorned with LED strips, and the aforementioned logo.
G/O Media may get a commission
The logotype reminds emblems classics of Lancia, resetting the spear on the shield that was neuralgic on all of the many manufacturer emblems prior to 2010. Admittedly, it pulls it off in a way that feels deadbut hey, remember the automotive brand in the 2020s.
Apparently, the concept also harkens back to Lancia’s past, though I don’t see the clues that the designers put in. Of Press release:
Lancia Pu+Ra Zero is made up of soft, flowing lines reminiscent of the design of the Aurelia B20 and Flaminia, with a circular roof that floods the cabin with light, in a game of balance between exteriors and interiors.
Round taillights stand out at the rear. They are reminiscent of those on the Stratos and will be used on the new Ypsilon with the new Lancia lettering placed between the headlights. Finally, in a side view, the new logo stands out.
Frankly, the Aurelia never been my favorite although I can’t deny that it looks different than anything else and I understand why is it celebrated. But it cost me find some relationship between that classic curvaceous coupe and this type mouse levitating trackball that’s what he called it my friend Jose
I also don’t see any Stratos in the taillights of the Pu+Ra Zero. They are ovals, not circles like the ones on the Stratos. A much more accurate comparison would have been with the back of a Bentley Continental modern.
Lancia says the Pu+Ra Zero is a distillation of its Pu+Ra design language, as are called the guiding principles that will define its next models. (“Pu+Ra” is “pure” and “radical,” not a reference to the periodic table abbreviations for plutonium and radium.) The automaker will work with Italian furniture designer Cassina to define its future interiors, which is not evident in this concept because it has no interior, just a reflective pool of lights in the center.
I guess the optimistic, apologetic take on the Pu+Ra Zero is that it’s a modern take on Bertone’s iconic Lancia Stratos Zero concept. The difference is that the Stratos Zero was a real working car, although it looked like a sculpture that no human being could possibly fit into. This was possible thanks to an innovative approach to its hood, in which the entire windshield opened to allow entry and exit, and the steering wheel was hinged to the floor. Sitting inside, you were practically lying on your back like demonstrate the video below.
Of course the Stratos Zero was an otherworldly deathtrap, and would hardly make it to production So. But the fact that the damn thing worked it grounded the beauty and achievement of design. Clearly, the Today’s Lancia is not driven by performance, as it was in its golden years. It’s long since over, and there’s nothing objectively wrong with that. But it’s very hard to get excited about a top third from a generic 3D model, especially when you know that all Lancia really needed to do was show us a semi-cool hatchback. We weren’t asking for much.