Tuesday, October 05, 2021

Lancia Beta



OK, I know what most people are going to be saying right now. But lets look at the positive side of these brilliant cars. They were stylish, quick, well equipped, good on fuel (well, that depended on the driving style!) and did really well in motorsport. Everyone seems to talk about the rust, but let talk performance handling and road holding. Starting with the 1400 engine at 89 hp to the 2000 VX (supercharged)at 133hp. Not forgetting the light weight beta coupes with power steering, electric windows, sunroof, 5 speeed box and disc brakes all round. I have owned many Betas in my time including the Spider, Coupe, Berlina, HPE and even a Trevi and have to admit, there was nothing quite like them.
Here is some background on the cars, how they came about and the range of models;
The name Beta was chosen for a new vehicle to be launched in 1972. The choice of name symbolised a new beginning as it reflected the fact that the company’s founder, Vincenzo Lancia used the Greek alphabet for his original Lancias of the early 1900s.
When Fiat acquired Lancia in 1969, Sergio Camuffo was given the job of developing the new model in early 1970. Although in the difficult years before the Fiat take-over a number of the engineering staff had left the ailing Lancia company, Camuffo was still able to pull together a core of Lancia engineers who were tasked with getting the car into production by the end of 1972. Romanini, chassis design, Zaccone Mina, engine development, with Gilio and Bencini in testing. This was a very short timeframe, and development money was relatively limited. However, they managed to produce this great car by reducing the production costs by using in-house Fiat group technology and parts as far as possible. The project adapted a well-regarded existing Fiat engine, fitted transversely and driving the front wheels in line with Fiat’s investment in this configuration during the previous decade. The gear box was a development of a transmission unit then being developed by Fiat-partner Citroën for a forthcoming model of their own. Above all, and in contrast with the Fulvia, the Beta design was relatively inexpensive to produce in volumes significantly higher than those achieved by predecessor Lancia saloons.
The Beta was very well received by the motoring press and public when launched. The various models were praised for their performance and their good handling and roadholding. They were widely regarded as a “driver’s car” with plenty of character. The Beta was competitively priced in export markets and managed to become the highest ever selling Lancia model up to that point.
Unfortunately the Beta gained a reputation for being rust-prone, particularly the 1st Series vehicles (built from 1972 to 1975). The corrosion problems could even be structural, for instance where the subframe carrying the engine and gearbox was bolted to the underside of the car. The box section to which the rear of the subframe was mounted could corrode badly, causing the subframe to become loose. Although tales of subframes dropping out of vehicles were simply not true, a vehicle with a loose subframe would fail a technical inspection. Lancia started a buy back program as well as introducing a 6-year anti-corrosion warranty – an automotive first in the UK. Whilst later Betas (2nd Series cars) had reinforced subframe mounting points and post-1979 cars were better protected from the elements, these issues damaged the whole marque’s sales success on most export markets. However, thanks to its strong driver appeal, the Beta still enjoys a dedicated following today. Surviving examples make an interesting classic car choice for the enthusiast.
The first body style to appear, and the most common was the four-door berlina (saloon), it was ‘fastback’ styling giving the appearance of a hatchback, although in fact it had a conventional boot like a saloon. 194,914 were built.
The Beta Coupe followed. This was a 2+2 two-door car with bodywork which was developed in house by a Lancia team led by Aldo Castagno, with Pietro Castagnero acting as styling consultant. Castagnero had also styled the Beta’s predecessor, the Lancia Fulvia saloon and coupé. 111,801 Beta Coupes were made.
The next version to be launched was a two-door convertible called the Spider (or Zagato in America). The Spider used the coupé’s shorter wheelbase and featured a targa top roof panel, a roll-over bar and folding rear roof. . The Spider was designed by Pininfarina but actually built by Zagato. 9390 cars were produced.
The Beta HPE was a three-door sporting estate or shooting-brake introduced in 1975. HPE stood for High Performance Estate, and then later High Performance Executive. This model had Berlina’s longer wheelbase floorpan combined with the coupé’s front end and doors. The HPE was also styled in house at Lancia by Castagno’s team, with Castagnero as styling consultant. It was renamed the Lancia HPE (without the Beta) from 1979 and was discontinued in 1984. 71,258 were built.
Trevi was an executive saloon based on the Berlina floorpan. It was produced late in the Beta’s life, with assistance from Pininfarina, it also introduced a controversial new dashboard layout with deeply recessed displays, which was also later used in the third series Berlina. 36,784 Trevis were built.
The final car to carry the Beta badge was the Pininfarina designed and built two-door Lancia Montecarlo. This was a rear-wheel drive, mid-engined two-seater sports car that shared very few components with other Betas. The car was originally designed as Pininfarina’s contender to replace Fiat’s 124 Coupe, but lost out to Bertone’s cheaper design, which became the Fiat X1/9. Pininfarina’s design was called the X1/20 at the prototype stage. Lancia launched the Montecarlo as a premium alternative to the X1/9, with the 2 litre twin cam engine rather than the X1/9′s single cam 1300. Both used a similar chassis floorplan, based on the Fiat 128 MacPherson strut front suspension and disk brakes at both front and rear. Lancia Beta parts were limited to those from the existing Fiat/Lancia standard parts bin, the transverse mount version of the Fiat 124′s twin cam engine and the five speed gearbox and transaxle.
There were also a number of supercharged Beta coupes, HPEs and Trevis. Late in the model’s life Lancia released the Trevi VX, with a Roots-type supercharger fitted between the carburettor and low-compression two-litre engine. The Coupé VX and HPE VX followed soon after (June 1983). These three variants were known as Volumex models and had the highest performance of all the road-going production Betas, with 135 bhp (101 kW) and substantially increased torque over the normal two-litre 200 N·m (148 lb·ft). The Coupé VX and HPE VX can be distinguished from the normal cars by the offset bulge on the hood which is required to clear the new air intake, a spoiler fitted below the front bumper and the rubber rear spoiler. They also have stiffer spring rates. Lancia produced 1272 Coupé VX, 2370 HPE VX and 3900 Trevi VX. Most were left-hand drive.
Variations of Beta coupes and Monte Carlos have been raced in various classes and are still running today in the historic races.

Lancia Motor Club.

Club Lancia Sport

Lancia Beta Forum

www.in2motorsports.com






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