Lancia Kappa Coupe

Lancia
Lancia Kappa Coupé (1997-1998)
Kappa Coupé
Production period:	1997-2000
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Petrol engines : 2.0-3.0 liters (129-162 kW)
Length:	4560 mm
Width:	1825 mm
Height:	1430 mm
Wheelbase :	2580 mm
Empty weight :	1425-1630 kg
Previous model	Lancia Gamma Coupe

The Lancia Kappa Coupé (also: Lancia kC) is an upper middle class vehicle based on the Lancia Kappa sedan. The Maggiora manufacture manufactured the car for Lancia from January 1997 to March 2000. The coupé was only offered in some of the brand's markets.

draft

Lancia has always complemented its own model range with exclusive coupés and convertibles, which were developed by body manufacturers themselves and then sold through the Lancia dealer network. Sometimes there were up to four different competing models based on the same car. However, the market for these vehicles became increasingly unattractive, as these handcrafted vehicles often cost more than products from pure sports car manufacturers.

After the Lancia Gamma Coupé was discontinued in the summer of 1984, a coupé built by the Carrozzeria Boneschi based on the theme was presented two years later at the Turin Motor Show, but it did not go into series production. Except for the doors, this was no different from the sedan.

Stern with the characteristic " tail fins ", which are designed as a continuation of the roof gutter

When the Kappa came onto the market as the successor to the Thema in the late summer of 1994, the idea of ​​a larger coupé was taken up again, but now with an independent body. Based on the Kappa, two studies for a coupé were created. Paolo Martin designed the K 2000 Coupé study at Bonasea . The low creative relationship between the design and the brand was criticized. Bertone presented the study Kayak Coupé

Lancia ultimately commissioned the Maggiora manufacture to design and manufacture a coupé based on the Kappa. This had previously taken over the old Lancia Chivasso plant. Gianna Maggiora, the daughter of the company owner, and Enrico Fumia from Centro Stile Lancia were responsible for the design.

The Kappa Coupé was presented for the first time at the 1996 Turin Motor Show. When it appeared in April 1997, the sedan had been on the market for almost three years.

The final design was reminiscent of the Lancia Flaminia Coupé in terms of design and was formally independent from the sedan. The coupé shares the front end, windshield, dashboard and drive train with it up to the A-pillar. Despite the small number of items, hardly any existing parts were used. The rear end as well as the seats and side panels have been redesigned.

Compared to the sedan, the coupé is 37 millimeters lower and the wheelbase is 12 cm shorter. As a result, the value of the drag coefficient has improved to 0.37. The rear window slopes down towards the rear and is flanked by two indicated tail fins. A shortening of the body compared to sedans is quite common with coupés. The ribbon window is framed by a bracket made of polished stainless steel. The trunk volume is 500 liters.

production

From the beginning, the Kappa Coupé was designed as a niche vehicle with small numbers. The production capacity in the Maggiora factory in Chivasso was a maximum of 3,000 vehicles per year, as the Fiat Barchetta roadster was also being manufactured there at the same time . For the first year Lancia expected 200 copies to be sold in Germany. The daily production in 1999 was five pieces.

Quantities

The Carrozzeria Maggiora in Chivasso produced a total of 3271 copies. The serial numbers were not assigned chronologically. Numbers between # 0011 and # 3308 were assigned, whereby the first vehicle was # 0020 and the last was # 3306. The specimens # 0011-0050 were purely test vehicles with no assigned details of the interior fittings.

The production figures were lower than the predecessor Lancia Gamma Coupé (6789 copies) and lower than the Fiat 130 Coupé (4493 copies). The Lancia Aurelia B20 Coupé was produced in comparable numbers in the 1950s (3871 units).

Versions and equipment

The Kappa Coupé was only available in one equipment variant that corresponded to the highest variant LX in the other models. Thus, the Alcantara upholstery on the Recaro seats was standard, as was the blue-tinted “Solextra” heat protection glazing, the headlight washer system, fog lamps, seat heating, leather steering wheel and gear knob, rear blinds and electrically folding mirrors. The Alcantara cover could be ordered in four different colors (bordeaux, green, anthracite gray and ice). When the front seats tip over, they move forward electrically to make getting in the back easier. As standard there were also 16 "wheels from Speedline specially designed for the Coupe .

There were seven different body colors to choose from. The traditional Lancia blue was the only non- metallic paint and, like Mercury gray and Pluto green , came from the sedan. The following were reserved exclusively for the Coupé: Black Storm , Energy Blue , Power Red and Saturn Blue . No color was chargeable. Only the 2.0t 20V had door handles painted in body color to differentiate it, all other versions had chrome-plated door handles.

Facelift

Lancia Kappa Coupe (1998-2000)

In May 1998 a model maintenance measure took place. From then on there were bumpers painted entirely in the body color. In the interior there was from now on a center armrest, the wood imitations in the interior were now shiny and no longer matt. The design of the steering wheel has also changed. Only in Germany was the Blaupunkt RNS2 Travelpilot navigation system with 6-disc CD changer in the trunk part of the standard equipment. Side airbags were also standard equipment in Germany. The use of a Brembo brake system in the 2.0l 20V Turbo and 3.0l 24V models made new rims necessary, which despite the same design have a larger curvature towards the outside. The 2.4-20V engine received a valve cover made of cast aluminum instead of plastic, the rim design of the first series was retained. Overall, the facelift measures coincide with those of the sedan and the SW.

The entry-level engine available in Italy and Switzerland, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder 16V turbo (so-called " Lampredi engine ") with 205 hp developed by Aurelio Lampredi , was replaced by a 2.0-liter five-cylinder 20V turbo -Motor with 220 hp replaced and was available in all markets of the kC.

After the Kappa sedan was discontinued , there was no longer any technical basis for the coupé; the last copies were made in the spring of 2000. As a successor, Maggiora designed the Coupé study Granturismo Lancia based on the Lancia Thesis , which was also presented to the public. However, Lancia ruled out series production.

Special equipment

The optionally available Poltrona Frau interior in the color "Anthracite"

As extras, genuine leather upholstery from the Italian manufacturer Poltrona Frau was available for 2500 DM , with twelve color variants to choose from ("Kaleidos Leather"), a suspension with electronically adjustable damping for 2200 DM, xenon headlights for 1450 DM Electric sunroof for DM 1600, an alarm system for 800, the Servotronic and cruise control.

The Servotronic was standard on board with the 3.0 liter engine. For the other engines, the cruise control and the Servotronic were offered from spring 1999. The navigation system “Route Planner” (a security and emergency service system for positioning via satellite from Magneti Marelli ) and the Carin 520 from Philips were only offered in the first series . The “Sportronic” was also only available for the 3.0l engine in the first series and only in the 1998 model year.

A wooden steering wheel, matching trunk bags , parking sensors and other rims were available from the LineaAccessori line of accessories .

rims

• 

  Aluminum rim SL-1188 from Speedline; as an option officially only for the station wagon, which was available in 16 "and 17".

• 

  Aluminum rim of the Coupé for all versions, also from Speedline

Special variants

In addition to the options from the standard range, Maggiora also fulfilled special requests, most of them towards the end of production, similar to the Lancia Delta (I) Integrale Evoluzione , the last of which Maggiora had previously made. The special versions included, for example, a different paint finish (3 of which in silver and 2 in white), a different interior (6 of which were in the color viola ), a 6-speed manual transmission for the 3.0 (which was normally only delivered with an automatic transmission). One example was built with the 2.4 JTD diesel engine.

resonance

The Kappa Coupé remained and remains a rare sight on the streets

A Kappa Coupé as a museum exhibit in a car dealership (center)

The level of awareness of the Kappa Coupé remained low and many German comparative tests were to the disadvantage of the car. The CLK Coupés from Mercedes-Benz and the Peugeot 406 Coupé , which came onto the market at the same time, represented strong competition. Auto, motor und sport tested the top engine and criticized the additional price for the simpler CLK 230 based on the Mercedes C-Class: 68 034 marks […]. It takes a very special taste to choose the Lancia, which costs 74,900 marks .

The contemporary press praised the comfort of the exclusive car, such as Hans Werner 1997 in the Berliner Zeitung , who praised it as a model of modern comfort , or the Berliner Kurier , in which an article with the title Lancia Coupé - so elegant and so noble as appeared from a bespoke tailor . Another praised the car on the one hand as "the finest automotive jewel" and on the other hand criticized the high price. Artemi Paolo from Corriere della Sera praised the Coupé as a "typical Lancia" and as an "alternative to the aggressive models from Alfa Romeo "

In March 2000, the Coupé was the only vehicle to be seen on the homepage of Lancia's website alongside a classic car, but production was discontinued shortly afterwards.

The design peculiarity went largely unnoticed in the contemporary press, but later caused certain controversies. The Auto Zeitung wrote in 2006:

“In places the line is more of a cathedral than a coupé, but that was also the case with the contemporary Mercedes C 140. And somehow the Lancia has a little more style. "

- Wolfgang Peters

Wolfgang Peters wrote in the FAZ 2009:

“The Kappa Coupé, with its unbelievable overhangs at the front and rear, was so distinguished and beyond general taste that its quirkiness almost led to its incomparable attractiveness. If only it had been seen more often. "

- Wolfgang Peters

Existence in Germany

The total number of Lancia Kappa Coupés registered in Germany continues to decline in general. Due to the small number of units, the market for vehicles is very supraregional: the 2.0t 20V is still imported to Germany, while the 3.0 V6 is most frequently exported abroad, especially to countries in which the coupé was never offered. Today there are numerous cars in Austria, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

Nine years after production was discontinued, AutoBild-Klassik tested a copy in 2009 and described the kC as a “modern classic”. In another article, the coupé was referred to as a “sports car for every day” with reference to mass production technology.

Motorization	Construction year	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	annotation
2.0t 16V	1997-1998	3	3	4th	5	6th	5	6th	5	5	4th	4th	5	4th	4th	3	2	never officially imported
2.0t 20V	1998-2000	112	110	108	103	100	91	77	70	68	66	67	67	62	55	46	42
2.4 20V	1997-2000	263	257	252	240	226	214	180	175	154	145	130	120	117	104	93	88
3.0 24V	1997-2000	132	129	131	120	117	111	81	78	70	63	57	49	41	35	34	34	only as an automatic
total	1997-2000	510	499	495	468	449	421	344	328	297	278	258	241	224	198	176	166

Information according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority , information on January 1st of each year.

technology

General

The Kappa Coupé is derived from the sedan and is also based on the Tipo 4 platform, which was first used in 1984 in the jointly developed Alfa 164 , Lancia Thema , Fiat Croma and Saab 9000 models and on which the Alfa Romeo, which was introduced in autumn 1998, was last used 166 based. The main differences between the Lancia and the Alfa Romeo are in the design of the wheel suspension.

The coupé has the same front structure up to the A-pillar as the sedan, the same dashboard and the same drive train. There are differences in the suspension of the rear axle and the rear shock absorbers.

The body from the A-pillar and the interior, except for the dashboard, were redesigned. Few of the small parts that did not have a major impact on the overall design were parts from the group, some of which, however, were slightly redesigned. The license plate lighting is the same as in the Lancia Thema and the Maserati Quattroporte , for example . The rear lights have the same cover glass as a version of the second generation Lancia Delta , but on the Coupé they are offset and framed with a polished stainless steel bracket. The button in the glove compartment for opening the tailgate comes from the cockpit of the Fiat Ducato van , but is printed differently.

Technical specifications

Engines

The Kappa Coupé was always built with three different engines, of which only two were available in Germany until the facelift in May 1998:

• Until the revision, the engine with the lowest displacement but the most powerful engine was the version available in Italy, Belgium and Switzerland with the 2.0 four-cylinder 16V turbo engine with 205 hp. This did not come onto the market in Germany. In 1998 this was replaced by a 2.0 five-cylinder 20V turbo engine and was henceforth available in all markets except the Netherlands.

• The most frequently chosen engine was the five-cylinder 2.4-liter 20V with 175 hp (in Germany from 63,100 DM)

• The engine with the largest capacity was the throttled 3.0-liter V6-cylinder 24V engine from Alfa Romeo with 204 hp and standard automatic (in Germany from 74,900 DM). The 4-speed automatic of the 3.0 was supplied by ZF until the beginning of 1999 (one year after the facelift) (code 838CD), after which a 5-speed automatic transmission from Aisin was installed (code 838CD11A). It is considered to be more comfortable because of the ease of tapping the gears and led to a change in driving performance: acceleration improved from 0 to 100 km / h in 8.9 s instead of the previous 9.8 s; the top speed fell by 5 km / h to 220 km / h. The pollutant emissions rose by 6 g / km to 300 g / km and EU standard consumption 0.4 l from 12.3 l to 12.7 l.

• Engines of the Kappa Coupé
• 

  Lampredi's 2.0 liter turbo 16V engine was only offered in some markets.

• 

  The 2.0 l turbo 20V engine was available from 1998.

• 

  The 2.4-liter 20V engine was the most common entry-level engine that was offered throughout.

• 

  The 3.0 liter 24V engine came from Alfa Romeo.

Construction of the doors

The frameless windows are automatically lowered slightly when the door is opened, but this puts more stress on the electric windows than in the sedan. The mechanics and the motor of the window regulator therefore differ. In general, the doors have to be adjusted from time to time, otherwise the paintwork of the door rebate and the seals could be scratched due to the high dead weight.

Seat adjustment

The seats are adjusted electrically. When the backrest is folded down, they move forward to make it easier for the rear occupants to get out. After folding back, the seat moves back to its original position. Occasionally, however, the previous position is not approached exactly, so that it may be necessary to adjust the seat again afterwards. Many vehicles have this error, but a cause has not been found. In contrast to the limousine, there was no memory function available for three saved positions.

Trivia

• In keeping with its rarity, the Kappa Coupé only appears twice in the film, once in the episode "The Testament" (# 5.10 from 1999) of the Kommissar Rex series and once in the episode " The Bielefeld Conspiracy " in the Wilsberg series (first broadcast February 18, 2012 on ZDF).
• Strictly speaking, the spelling of the Greek lowercase letter Kappa is κ and not  k . The sedan and station wagon are listed as k in internal documents , the Kappa Coupé as kC . However, the nameplate on the fenders also says  k .

literature

• AutoKatalog model years 1995 to 2001

Web links

Commons : Lancia Kappa Coupé  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• kappacoupe (private website)
• Lancia press release on the introduction of the Kappa Coupé (1997)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Paul Schinhofen: Lancia - Innovation and fascination; 100 eventful years. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2006. ISBN 978-3-89880-649-7 . Pp. 112, 113, 115.
2. ↑ Lancia thema limousine , on lanciathema.it
3. ↑ conceptcars.it ( Memento of the original from December 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ italiaspeed.com
5. ↑ ^{a b} The competition makes it look old . In: Berliner Zeitung , August 9, 1997
6. ↑ main-rheiner.de ( Memento of the original from August 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ rp-online.de
8. ↑ industrie.de ( Memento of the original from August 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ Oldtimer Markt , issue 4/1995, p. 16.
10. ↑ Motor Klassik , issue 3/2006, p. 37.
11. ↑ Brazendale, p. 211.
12. ↑ autobild.de
13. ↑ Information according to price lists 1997 and 1999, incl. 16% VAT.
14. ↑ auto-motor-und-sport.de
15. ^ Berliner Kurier , September 21, 1997
16. ↑ Berliner Kurier , June 6, 1997, p. 41
17. ↑ p. 44. Corriere della Sera , March 25, 1997
18. ↑ lancia.com ( Memento of March 3, 2000 in the Internet Archive )
19. ↑ Wolfgang Peters: Article on 100 years of Lancia. ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Autozeitung , 2006
20. ↑ Wolfgang Peters: How the fine noodle to a noble Italy . FAZ , November 28, 2006, archived from the original on July 25, 2015 . 
21. ↑ JH Muche: Lancia Kappa Coupé 2.4 - A modern classic . AutoBild-Klassik, online edition, August 30, 2009.
22. ↑ AutoBild-Klassik online edition 2011, accessed May 11, 2011
23. ↑ Lancia Kappa , on www.carsfromitaly.net
24. ↑ 1997 Lancia Kappa Coupé 838