| Lancia Gamma | |
| Manufacturer: | Lancia |
| Production: | 1976-1984 |
| Predecessor: | Lancia 2000 Lancia Flaminia |
| Successor: | Lancia Thema |
| Class: | Executive car (E) |
| Layout: | Front-engine, front-wheel-drive |
| Wheelbase: | 26701NaN1 - berlina 25551NaN1 - coupé[1] |
| Length: | 45801NaN1 - berlina 44851NaN1 - coupé |
| Width: | 17301NaN1 |
| Height: | 14101NaN1 - berlina 13301NaN1 - coupé |
| Weight: | 13200NaN0 - berlina 12900NaN0 - coupé |
| Related: | Lancia BetaLancia FlaviaLancia 2000 |
| Designer: | Pininfarina (saloon) Aldo Brovarone at Pininfarina (coupé) |
The Lancia Gamma (Tipo 830), stylised as Lancia γ, is an executive car (E-segment in Europe) manufactured and marketed by the Lancia subdivision of Fiat. Following its debut at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show as Lancia's new flagship, the Gamma was marketed as a 4-door fastback saloon known as the Berlina (1976-1984) and as a 2-door coupé (1977-1984), both designed by Pininfarina - with 15,272 and 6,790 manufactured, respectively.[2] The Gamma superseded the Lancia Flavia.
The fastback style of the Berlina featured a conventional boot at the rear, rather than a hatchback. At the car's press launch Pininfarina said a hatchback was avoided to save the inconvenience to back seat passengers when luggage is loaded, ostensibly draughts.[3]
Gamma is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. Lancia had used Greek letters to denote its models before 1945, and the nomenclature was revived with the Lancia Beta in 1971, the first Lancia developed under Fiat supervision. The Gamma is also shared front-wheel drive and suspension elements from the Beta.
The Lancia Gamma was a front-wheel-drive car with a longitudinally-mounted boxer engine and either a 5-speed manual transmission and later a 4-speed automatic transmission. The Gamma received a midcycle face-lift, receiving Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection as well as a new corporate grille, 15-inch "sunburst" alloy wheels, and a revised interior with new instrumentation, interior lighting, badging, handbrake and gear lever gaiter.
Though Fiat had planned to use one of their V6 engines, Lancia developed unique flat-4 engines for the Gamma. The Lancia Flavia and Flavia Coupe had used 1.8 and 2.0 litre flat four engines and the Lancia 2000 used the 2.0 litre engine. Engine designer De Virgilio also drew up an engine for the Gamma which was a V6 4-cam with either 3- or 4-litre displacement, but this never came to fruition.
The flat engine, though large for a modern 4-cylinder petrol engine, lacked the cachet associated with six and eight cylinder engines but enabled Pininfarina chief stylist Aldo Brovarone to lower the coupé's bonnet line and to steeply rake its windscreen.
Pressure cast in alloy with wet cylinder liners, the engine was light and though it only produced 1400NaN0, (1200NaN0 in 2.0-litre form) its torque was available at just 2000 rpm.
Initially available with a displacement of 2.5 L (Gamma 2500), it was later joined by a 2.0 L version (Gamma 2000), which resulted from the Italian tax system (cars with engines larger than 2.0 L were subject to heavier tax burden). The displacement was lowered by decreasing the bore rather than the stroke of the engine. Both displacements were using Weber carburetors, and the 2.5 L also came in a version fitted with fuel injection (Gamma 2500 I.E.)[1]
| Lancia Gamma Coupé production figures* | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | Totals | ||||
| 1 | 9 | 1,006 | 2,064 | 1,236 | 6,790 | |||||||||
| 2 | 37 | 1,225 | 952 | 176 | 51 | 33 | ||||||||
| Lancia Gamma Coupé version figures | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 ie | Total | ||
| Series 1 1976-79 | 1,978 | 2,337 | 4,315 | ||
| Series 2 1980-84 | 1,265 | 1,209 | 2,474 | ||
| Total | 3,243 | 3,546 | 6,789 | ||
Several concepts were developed from the Gamma Platform over the years:[4]