When an automobile company is developing a new car, it tries by all means to ensure that no information or, above all, any image is leaked to keep one of the most important aspects of the vehicle secret: its design. This explains why the prototypes and pre-production examples have the bodywork well camouflaged with geometric prints that hide their real shapes. A priori, the brand is the one that establishes how and when it will show its new product.
On some occasions, to generate expectation, the graphic and informative material is dosed until the car is completely discovered. Such is the case of Lancia, which just this week has made public a second detail of the Ypsilon, the electric model with which, in 2024, the Italian firm, now belonging to the Stellantis group, will be reborn. This is a photo of the front, which is added to that of an interior tray shown at the end of November.
This communication strategy, which should culminate next February with the world debut of the car, has gone to waste due to a fortuitous event: the accident of one of the pre-series examples without camouflage that was in the testing phase has revealed the car design. The causes of the accident are unknown, which, without any injuries being reported, ended up with this specimen in a river near the Stellantis facilities in Montbéliard (France).
Lionel Vadam, photojournalist for L’Est Republicain, was present when the firefighters were carrying out the rescue work on the vehicle and his images were quickly shared on social networks. Snapshots show the new Ypsilon being lifted out of the water by the crane. And some have rushed to create more detailed teasers of what the vehicle will be like.
Thus, based on the photos of the accident car, we can say that the new model will have sporty style wheels, round rear lights and rear door handles integrated into the C pillar (next to the window). As the model has been left with the trunk lid open, it can be seen that it will probably offer good loading capacity. As for the design of the front part, as the brand itself has shown in a photo of the front, it inherits aesthetic features of the Pu Ra HPE prototype, characterized by a dominant lighting signature, formed by three LED rays easily recognizable from a distance both during the day like at night
At the moment, beyond the fact that it will be equipped with an electric motor, nothing is known about the technical details of the model, which will be manufactured in Spain, specifically in the facilities that the Stellantis group has located in Figueruelas (Zaragoza).
The presentation of the model is scheduled for February 2024, with an exclusive limited edition called Lancia Ypsilon Cassina. 1906 numbered and certified units will be sold. This figure refers to the year of founding of the Italian firm that is now reborn.
The Ypsilon is the first of three models in the brand’s new Renaissance plan, which aims to launch a new vehicle every two years. After this, in 2026, the Gamma will arrive; and in 2028, the Delta will do so. According to the company, these three vehicles will cover 50% of the market.
