STYLING
 

To transform an industrial product into a unique object. This was the challenge facing Lancia and MomoDesign when they decided to develop the Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign, an expression of the best from Italy, which exploits colour contrasts to highlight the importance of detail and craftsmanship, offers elegant interiors and expresses a gutsy, dynamic personality.

The Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign is a very appealing car, which reflects the latest strong, winning market trends, while embodying the characteristic innovation and sportiness that are historical hallmarks of Lancia. The result is a unique car that has no equals in the exclusive compact segment. To start with, the measurements and architecture of the Lancia Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign include a few small but important details that can transform a classy model into a sports car proper: it is 381 centimetres long, 170 cm wide, 151 cm high and has a wheelbase of 239 cm. Small measurements on paper that do not detract from the roominess or the comfort; in fact the car can seat four or five adults, has a larger-than-average luggage compartment for its class (from 215 to 290 dm3, with the sliding seats fully forward) and leads its class for interior roominess.

On the outside, the new Sport MomoDesign version underlines the Ypsilon’s strong personality, proposing a number of stylistic and chromatic changes that reflect the styling of products from the MomoDesign Styling Centre. For example, in addition to the sporting Masaccio Black paintwork, the new Ypsilon can be ‘dressed’ in three other colours: elegant Borromini Grey, and new Casorati Yellow and Raphael White. The car is also offered with exclusive opaque metallic Titanium Grey paint on the tailgate, roof and wing mirrors. Lancia was the first carmaker to offer two-tone paintwork (on the Lancia Flaminia in the 1960s), but also the first to propose matt paintwork (the Lancia Ypsilon MomoDesign of 2005). An additional touch of assertiveness is given by the burnished metalluro finish on a number of elements: grille, tailgate handle, side and front trims and the ‘Multijet’ logo on the tailgate of diesel versions.

The darkened rear windows and colour-coded frames of the foglights add an extra touch of elegance, while the black tone-on-tone ‘MomoDesign’ graphic on the central pillar is the signature of the well-known Italian design firm. On the exterior, exclusive 16” alloys with a burnished diamond effect, and the ultra-sporty red ‘Y’ of the ‘Ypsilon’ for the top-of-the-range version.
 

The essential uncluttered styling and dark upholstery of the passenger compartment is elegant and refined, but adds that touch of assertiveness that you expect from a Lancia of this calibre, for example a black leather steering wheel and gear lever knob. The seats on the new Ypsilon Sport by MomoDesign are upholstered with Airtex technological fabric in a new shade of black, that matches the paintwork perfectly. This innovative fabric combines traditional Lancia classicism and elegance with a new technological approach, underlined by the ‘spaced tubular’ effect that was the result of research into technical clothing fabrics. For extra sportiness, the range includes seats in leather and Alcantara® Starlite, revealing the words ‘MomoDesign’ in silver in the perforations, a modern, sporty approach to Alcantara®, which Lancia was the first to use on a car.

And finally, the Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign is the first car in the range to sport the new Lancia logo, which is a symbol of ‘change in continuity’, a sign of the past reinterpreted in a modern key to convey the idea of a brand projected towards the challenges of the future but also proud of its historical identity.

The new logo was created by RobilantAssociati, an advertising agency that specialises in brand advisory and strategic design, and by the Lancia Styling Centre, and two elements confirm the strong links with Lancia tradition: the colour blue, which has been present since 1911, and the shield, which was added in 1929, but has deliberately been brought up to date by the volumetric use of 3D. The most important innovation regards the steering wheel, which has become a graphic sign, and the four spokes, which have become two points that play a functional role, focusing the eye on the Lancia logo, which has been slightly modified to make it more legible, but still maintains its graphic links with the 1911 logo.

The Lancia Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign will appeal to people who appreciate cars with great personality and appeal. Today ‘lancisti’ stand out for the extraordinary passion and enthusiasm they share with the people who design, test and manufacture Lancia cars. Lancia is one of a small number of carmakers that can boast demanding, passionate fans, who love beauty but also keep right up to date with all the latest technologies. And there is a thread that links all Lancia cars: constant striving for innovation combined with exclusive Italian craftsmanship. A striving that is essential not only for the spirit of the brand but also for the very development of the car. Hundreds of patents filed, brilliant inventions, and practical improvements achieved by Lancia in a century of life bear witness to this.