Lancia · 1972–1984

Lancia Beta

The Lancia Beta (Type 828), stylised Lancia β, was an entry-level luxury car produced by Italian car manufacturer Lancia from 1972 to 1984. It was the first new model introduced by Lancia after it had been taken over by Fiat in 1969. The Beta was made in several body styles, namely 4-door fastback saloon (Beta berlina), 4-door three-box, notchback saloon (Beta Trevi), 2-door coupé (Beta Coupé), 2-door targa (Beta Spider), 3-door estate (Beta HPE); a mid-engined sports car was also sold under the Beta name, the Lancia Beta Montecarlo.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Lancia Fulvia · Successor: Lancia Prisma

All Lancia Beta data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Etymology

The company chose the name Beta for a new vehicle to be launched in 1972, symbolising a new beginning as it reflected the fact that the company's founder, Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937), had used letters of the Greek alphabet for his early vehicles – Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and so on. "Beta" had been used before, first for Lancia's 1908 car and again for a 1953 bus. Lancia had previously used the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, but this was not chosen for the new 1972 Lancia due to the obvious confusion it might cause with Alfa Romeo models.

Origins

When Fiat acquired Lancia in 1969, the company had been without a Technical Director for the year following the death of Technical Director Antonio Fessia. Ing. 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 company, Camuffo was 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. These were key factors that influenced the decision to use an existing power plant: the Fiat twin overhead cam, straight-four engine with its alloy head and cast iron block. At the Beta's launch late in 1972 Fiat chief Gianni Agnelli told journalists that Lancia's output would be about 40,000 units in 1972 at a time when a volume of 100,000 was needed to cover the fixed costs involved in developing and building the cars. Lancia's lack of profitability was also evidenced by the absence of replacement models under development at the time of the Fiat take-over. The Lancia Fulvia, though much loved, had been developed with little concern for making it cost-effective to manufacture; it had therefore been sold at a high price in correspondingly low volumes. The company's new owner's objective with the new Beta was to retain the quality image and price premium of existing Lancias, while minimising development time and production costs, using in-house Fiat group technology and parts where possible. The project adapted a well-regarded existing Fiat engine, fitted transversely and driving the front wheels, in line with Fiat's inves

Features

All versions of the car came with DOHC engines, five-speed gearboxes, rack and pinion steering, fully independent suspension using MacPherson struts, both front and rear, with disc brakes on all four wheels. The front-wheel-drive models were available in a number of engine capacities ranging from 1.3-litres to 2.0-litres. Breathing was provided by a single Weber carburettor until fuel injection was introduced on late two-litre HPE and Coupe models. As with a number of previous front-wheel drive-Lancia models, the engine and gearbox were mounted on a subframe that bolted to the underside of the body. However, in the Beta the engine and manual gearbox were fitted transversely in-line. This Fiat-inspired configuration not only enabled neat engine bay packaging, but also, by tilting the engine 20 degrees rearwards, the Lancia engineers achieved improved weight transfer over the driven wheels and towards the centre of the car, as well as lowering the centre of gravity. The rear-wheel drive Lancia Montecarlo employed a similar layout except the subframe was mounted at the rear. On the front-wheel drive Betas, Lancia designed a particularly original independent rear suspension with MacPherson struts attached to parallel transverse links that pivoted on a centrally mounted cross member bolted to the underside of the floorpan. An anti-roll bar was fitted to the floorpan ahead of the rear struts with both ends of the bar trailing back to bolt to the rear struts on each side. This unique design went on to be used in later Lancia models. The design was never patented by Lancia, and consequently inspired similar rear suspension system layouts in other manufacturers' vehicles during the 1980s and 1990s. A short wheelbase coupé was introduced in June 1973, then the following year the

Model range

The Beta was available in a number of different body styles: Berlina. Introduced in 1972, the first body style to appear, and the most common was the four-door berlina (saloon), with a wheelbase of 2,535 mm (99.8 in) and 'fastback' styling giving the appearance of a hatchback, although in fact it had a conventional boot like a saloon. This practice was common in the industry at the time as manufacturers deemed that hatchback designs would not be accepted in this market sector. It featured 1400, 1600 and 1800 transversely mounted twin-cam engines based on earlier Fiat designs along with five speed gearbox. In 1974 the 1.8ES version was launched featuring electric windows, alloy wheels and sunroof. At the Turin Auto Show in November 1974 a 1300 engine joined the range at the bottom, then in the fall of 1975 the existing 1600 and 1800 engines were replaced by new 1600 and 2000 units. The 2.0-litre units had improved torque (up 20% to 128 lb ft at 2800 rpm). In the same year Lancia returned to the US market with the Beta. Automatic versions were introduced in 1978. In 1981 the 2.0 became available with electronic fuel injection. Berlina production ended in 1981. Trevi. Late in the Beta's life, with assistance from Pininfarina, a substantially reworked 4-door three-box, notchback saloon variant was released as the Trevi; the Trevi also introduced an original new dashboard layout designed by Mario Bellini which was then applied to the third series Berlina. Number built: 194,914 Berlinas plus 36,784 Trevis. Coupé. In 1973 the second style to appear was a 2+2 two-door coupé with a 2,350 mm (92.5 in) wheelbase, although due to the fuel crisis did not become available to the public until early 1974. It was launched with 1.6 and 1.8L engines. New 1.6 and 2.0L engines replaced the

Lancia with Fiat elements

For some the Beta was not a Lancia but rather a Fiat. However Lancia had some autonomy from Fiat in the development of the Beta. The main reason for the Fiat label was that despite its unique Lancia chassis, suspension, interior and bodywork, the Beta used a Fiat-based engine. The Fiat Twin Cam engine, originally designed by Aurelio Lampredi, who built engines for Ferrari until Fiat employed him, was one of the most advanced 4-cylinder engines in Europe at that time. It continued in production well into the 1990s and, in highly developed form, was used in performance road cars such as the Lancia Delta Integrale and Fiat Coupé. The Lancia engineers made minor changes to the engines fitted to the Beta range. These included new inlet and exhaust manifolds as well as different carburation. In addition the mounting points on the engine block were different so as to allow for the transverse installation as opposed to the longitudinal installation utilised by the rear-wheel-drive Fiats. For these reasons the engines are not interchangeable between Betas and contemporary Fiats such as the Fiat 132. Engines.

Legacy

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). A widely circulated rumor states that the cars used Soviet steel supplied to Fiat in return for building the Lada factory. However, these claims have never been verified. The steel problems are more likely due to poor rustproofing techniques as well as the prolonged strikes that plagued Italy at that time rather than the metal's origin. The corrosion problems could 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. It was not just the Series 1 cars or saloons - according to an employee of the recycling firm that disposed of the Betas, the Series 2, HPE, Coupe and Spider models were all affected and by late 1983, the scrap dealer Hallett metals in Crewkerne, Somerset had crushed the last of the affected cars. In fact, by 1983 Series 2 cars outnumbered Series 1 models by a large percentage. Deliveries to Hallett Metals were handled mainly by transport company Abbey Hill. Before being crushed (flattened), the engine and gearboxes would be removed and p

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Specifications

name: Lancia Beta
Production: 1972–1984
Manufacturer: Lancia
Assembly: Italy: Turin, Italy: Grugliasco (Pininfarina), Italy: Milan (Zagato: Spider), Spain: Pamplona (SEAT)
Designer: Centro Stile Fiat (Berlina), Centro Stile Lancia under Piero Castagnero (Coupé and Trevi), Pininfarina (Spider, HPE and Montecarlo)
Class: Entry-level luxury car (D)
Body style: 4-door fastback saloon (berlina), 4-door notchback saloon (Trevi), 2-door coupé, 2-door targa (Spider), 3-door shooting brake (HPE), 2-door mid-engined coupé (Montecarlo)
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive (Montecarlo)
Related: Lancia Trevi, Lancia Montecarlo
Engine: 1.3 L I4 (petrol), 1.4 L I4 (petrol), 1.6 L I4 (petrol), 1.8 L I4 (petrol), 2.0 L I4 (petrol), 2.0 L supercharged I4 (petrol)
Wheelbase: Berlina: 2535 mm , Coupé: 2350 mm
Length: Berlina: 4293 –, Trevi: 4355 mm, Coupé: 3993 mm, HPE: 4285 mm, Spider: 4040 mm, Montecarlo: 3810 mm
Width: Berlina: 1651 mm, Trevi: 1700 mm, Spider: 1646 mm, Montecarlo: 1702 mm
Height: Berlina: 1397 mm, Trevi: 1400 mm, Coupé: 1280 mm, HPE: 1321 mm, Spider: 1250 mm, Montecarlo: 1190 mm
Kerb weight: 1000 –
Predecessor: Lancia Fulvia
Successor: Lancia Prisma
sp: uk

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q777710CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_BetaCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1371379495 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lancia_Beta_Coupe_2.0ie_1982.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: unknown, affiliated with Garage de l'Est, digitally modified and uploaded by User:328cia · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.