We present the important Lancia Tour Italian Design project, together with Davide Rampello, Chairman of the Milan Triennial, and Luca Molinari, Director of the NABA School of Design in Milan and curator of the exhibition - says Olivier François, the Lancia brand CEO. 2006 is a significant year for Lancia, because we celebrate our Centenary. Not many car companies have reached this prestigious milestone with a tradition of success like Lancia, and with the same determination to build a future for itself.

Two reasons make the Lancia Tour Italian Design particularly important for our brand. First, the commitment it represents. Because it is a transverse project, which has involved so many people: designers, architects, art and communications experts, and lovers of classic cars, as well as the Lancia team, of course. But also because it is a European project, and will visit all the brand’s major European markets, including Italy, France, Spain and Germany.
 

And finally because it reflects a substantial economic investment, comparable to a sweeping advertising campaign, but much more targeted and involving.

The second reason that makes the Tour important is its significance. It is an opportunity to communicate the brand’s genes, a combination of class, exclusiveness, innovation, style and Italian character. It is not just a nostalgic retrospective. Celebrating one hundred years of history is an important moment, because it enables us to reiterate brand values. In the present, our brand has a consolidated position on the Italian market and good prospects on the main European markets, as well as growing interest from more distant markets such as Japan.

We have dedicated a range of special cars to the Centenary, the limited editions of the Lancia Ypsilon and Lancia Musa, which we are presenting in this beautiful prestigious setting.
The success of the group we belong to enables us to look to the future with renewed confidence, and to work in the knowledge that the company has decided to invest in the glorious Lancia brand. I would like you to interpret the centenary logo like this: the number one hundred written with the mathematical symbol for infinity because, while we have a long history behind us, we want our future to be even longer.