Lancia is a brand that has always been synonymous with elegance, innovation, and emotion. From its origins in 1906, when Vincenzo Lancia founded the company with his friend Claudio Fogolin, to its glory years in the 1970s and 1980s, when it dominated the world rally championships with models like the Stratos, the Delta, and the Lancia Rally 037, Lancia has always been a pioneer of automotive design and engineering.
But in recent years, Lancia has been struggling to find its place in the market, as it faced competition from other premium brands and changing consumer preferences. The brand was reduced to a single model, the Lancia Ypsilon, which was only sold in Italy. Many fans feared Lancia would disappear forever or become a badge for rebadged models from other brands.
However, in 2021, Lancia announced a new era for the brand, a new renaissance. It unveiled a new logo, a new design language, and a new vision for the future. Lancia declared that it would become an all-electric brand, focusing on sustainability, technology, and elegance. It also revealed that it would collaborate with other prestigious Italian brands, such as Pininfarina and Poltrona Frau, to create unique products that reflect the best of Italian art, architecture, and design.
The first glimpse of this new era was the Pu+Ra Zero, a sculpture that showcased the essence of Lancia's new design philosophy. Pu+Ra stands for pure and radical, two words that capture the spirit of Lancia's past and future. Pure represents elegance and essentiality, while radical represents power, precision, and decisive style. The Pu+Ra Zero was inspired by iconic models from Lancia's history, such as the Lancia Stratos and the Beta HPE.
But the Pu+Ra Zero was not just a static piece of art. It was also a preview of what Lancia had in store for its future models. And now, at the 2023 Geneva Motor Show, Lancia has finally unveiled its first concept car based on the Pu+Ra design: the Lancia Pu+Ra HPE.
