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We showed you the Lancia Thema in the previous post, which is essentially a Chrysler 300 with an Italian name, and here are the other members of the new Chrysler based Lancia range of cars. Meet the Lancia Grand Voyager and the Lancia Flavia sedan and convertible.

Like the Thema, these “new Lancias” are largely unchanged from the American cars they were based on, and in the case of the MPV, Lancia didn’t even bother changing its name! The Voyager has been a mainstay in the segment for 27 years now, selling thirteen million units in 120 countries in the process, so perhaps that’s why Lancia isn’t changing its identity. The Grand Voyager replaces Lancia’s previous MPV, Phedra, which is a twin of the Citroen C8 and Fiat Ulysse.

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Called the Chrysler Town & Country in America, the current Grand Voyager is 5.14 metres long and 1.99 m wide, so it’s a huge box that’s even bigger than a Hyundai Starex. Main features include Stow ‘n Go seats in 2-2-3 formation and electric tailgate and sliding doors. It’s a Lancia so interior trim is more luxurious than if it was a Chrysler. The Grand Voyager is be powered by a Euro 5 rated 2.8L CRD engine with 163 hp/360 Nm or a 283 hp 3.6 V6 petrol.

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Also converted is the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible, which will be called the Lancia Flavia, reviving a nameplate from the 1960s. This younger brother to the Chrysler 300 is a revamped Sebring with a new name, in hope that it will offer better challenge to mid-sized stalwarts like the Camry and Accord. The 200 Convertible was unveiled last month. It’s a four-seater with the choice of a retractable hard top or a cloth soft top.

Those who remember the old days where Lancias were beautiful, exotic and race winning will cringe at the sight of these. I’ve unearthed something and would like to share it with you. Look out for it after the jump.
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We’ve known since mid last year that Lancia will sell rebadged Chryslers after Fiat bought a stake in the American company. The Lancia Delta appeared at last year’s Detroit show as a Chrysler and the upcoming Geneva show will see the just revamped Chrysler 300 show up in Switzerland as a Lancia, the new Lancia Thema to be exact.

This revives the Thema nameplate, which Lancia used for its big saloon in the 80s. If the original Thema was famous for having a version that used a Ferrari V8 engine, today’s Thema will be motivated by less exciting powerplants. There will be three V6 options – Chrysler’s 292 hp/353 Nm 3.6L Pentastar V6 with an 8-speed automatic ‘box and two 3.0L diesels (190 or 224 hp) with a 5-speed auto. All are Euro 5 compliant.

The petrol has the best performance figures – top speed of 230 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 7.2 seconds – but the Italian VM supplied oil burners will be more popular in Europe, especially the higher powered version with 550 Nm from 1,600-2,800 rpm.

Lancia focuses on style and luxury these days, so their 300 will get an option of Nappa leather and a Poltrona Frau leather-covered dashboard, as well as real wood inserts on the centre console, panels, doors and steering wheel. The seats feature four-way lumbar adjustment with up/down and front/back direction actuators and density adjuster plus S-shaped “serpentine spring suspension”. Best in class cabin isolation is also talked about. The two trim levels are called Gold and Platinum.

The Thema will go on sale from October 2011 in Europe. Click here to see the donor Chrysler.

This is the Lancia Delta HF Integrale, which was just recently announced as the “greatest hot hatch of all time” according to a vote participated by over 3,500 Autocar UK readers. The Delta HF Integrale garnered 14.3% of votes, almost double that of its nearest challenger, the Peugeot 205 GTi, followed by the original Ford Focus RS with 7.7% of the votes.

It’s sad that in today’s times neither Peugeot or Lancia are known for their hot hatches anymore. In fact Lancia has been reduced to a brand that sells what’s basically Fiats with sometimes slightly longer wheelbases and slightly better trim.

And the latest news is that the Lancia brand will basically be used to sell rebadged Chryslers in Europe, with the Chrysler brand being officially pulled out of the continent, except for UK and Ireland where Lancia has not been sold since 1991, so the Chrysler badge will remain in those two countries. It’s going to be a strange situation similar to that of Vauxhall and Opel where a set of cars will be sold as Opels all around Europe except for UK where they’re sold as Vauxhalls.

Chrysler cars that will get a new Lancia badge soon include the next generation PT Cruiser and Sebring replacements, the current generation Chrysler 300C and an updated Chrysler Voyager, which is sold in the US as the Chrysler Town & Country.