Lancia Beta Trevi

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Lancia
Lancia Trevi
Lancia Trevi
Beta Trevi
Trevi
Production period: 1980-1984
Class : Middle class
Body versions : limousine
Engines:
Petrol engines : 1.6–2.0 liters
(74–99 kW)
Length: 4355 mm
Width: 1702 mm
Height: 1400 mm
Wheelbase : 2540 mm
Empty weight : 970-1213 kg
successor Lancia Prism

The Lancia Beta Trevi (from 1983: Lancia Trevi ) is a four-door notchback sedan by the Italian car manufacturer Lancia , which was produced from 1980 to 1984. The Trevi was derived from the Beta Berlina hatchback sedan presented eight years earlier , with which it shared the technology and a large part of the body. In 1982, Lancia introduced the top-of-the-range Trevi Volumex turbocharging with Roots blower to increase performance, making the model the first mass-produced road vehicle with mechanical charging since the Second World War. The Beta Trevi VX Bimotore was a one-off designed with reference to automobile sport, which was factory-fitted with two compressor motors.

History of origin

Technical and stylistic basis: Lancia Beta Berlina
"Plain looking notchback": Lancia Beta Trevi

The Beta Trevi is closely related to the Beta Berlina hatchback sedan. The Berlina was the first Lancia model to be redeveloped after the company was taken over by the Fiat group. It replaced the Lancia Fulvia . The development time of the beta was little more than two years. Lancia took over numerous mechanical parts from Fiat - including the engines - but also from the then cooperation partner Citroën , in particular the transmission. The body shape of the Beta Berlina did not come from Lancia; rather, it was created in Fiat's Centro Stile . A characteristic feature was the hatchback body with a small trunk flap attached below the rear window. It was later found in the Lancia Gamma, which was also developed in collaboration with Citroën . Over the years, Lancia derived an entire family of models from the beta structure, including a notchback coupé, a station wagon ( HPE ) and an open-top model with a targa roof ( Spyder ). Their bodies, designed by Pininfarina , were similar to one another, but had no identical parts with the Beta Berlina. As the last variant of the beta theme, a notchback version appeared in March 1980, which was formally linked to the Beta Berlina.

According to some reports, the Beta Trevi came onto the market “more or less unplanned” or “out of pure improvisation”. Before that, other manufacturers had already added a notchback variant to their hatchback sedans: The Mini was transformed into the Riley Elf , VW made the Polo the VW Derby and the Golf the VW Jetta ; Talbot ( 1510 / Solara ) or Fiat ( Ritmo / Regata ) later proceeded similarly . The notchback versions were usually intended to appeal to the conservative clientele who were more aloof towards hatchback cars. This also applied to Lancia's Beta and Gamma sedans. Attempts to make the Beta range more attractive also included a five-door station wagon, which was only built as a one-off.

The additional name Trevi, which became the only model name from 1983, does not refer, as is sometimes suggested, to the Roman Trevi Fountain . Rather, the word is a summary of the Italian term Tre Volumi and describes the body structure consisting of three separate spaces (engine, passenger and trunk).

Parallel to the development of the Trevi, Lancia was considering adding a sister model with a classic notchback to the Gamma hatchback. From Gamma Tre Volumi a single prototype, which still exists today was born. Series production did not materialize.

Model description

Body and interior

“Swiss cheese”: the dashboard of the Beta Trevi designed by Mario Bellini

The body of the Beta Trevi was designed by in-house designers; Pininfarina contributed detailed work. The Beta Trevi resembled the Berlina up to the rear doors. The belt line continued horizontally on the backpack-like trunk. The high, angular rear superstructure was often perceived as inharmonious or inelegant; The multi-part clad C-pillar was particularly criticized. At the rear end of the roof, a spoiler lip was integrated above the rear window.

A special feature of the Beta Trevi was the dashboard, which differed from those of all other Beta models. For the Trevi, it was designed by the Milanese architect and industrial designer Mario Bellini , whose work had previously had no relation to the automobile. Bellini had designed a slightly curved unit made of colored plastic. There were about 30 round recesses in which switches and individual displays were located. Bellini's dashboard was almost universally criticized; The lack of clarity in the arrangement of the displays and controls was particularly criticized. In the press it was ridiculed as “rocks with holes blown into them”, “cave landscape”, “Swiss cheese” or “Gruyère à la Fiat”. Many comments stated that this futuristic design was in contrast to the decidedly conventional exterior.

landing gear

The Trevi had a self-supporting body . The chassis corresponded to that of the Beta Berlina constructed in 1971 and 1972 under the direction of Sergio Camuffo . The wheels were hung individually at the front and back . At the front, the car had MacPherson struts and triangular wishbones with anti-roll bars ; at the rear, as in the Beta Berlina, the so-called Camuffo rear axle with wheel-guiding spring struts, two wishbones and a trailing arm was installed.

Engines

The engine was installed transversely in the front of the Trevi; he drove the front wheels. Lancia offered several different engines with carburetors, manifold injection and mechanical charging.

Naturally aspirated engines

The Trevi was available with different versions of the so-called Lampredi four-cylinder , which appeared in the Fiat 124 Coupé in 1966 and gradually became the standard engine for mid-range vehicles of the Fiat group. From the beginning, erbauch was built into the Beta Berlina and the other versions of the Beta. The headed by Aurelio Lampredi motor developed had a block of gray cast iron equipped and was in all displacement versions with two overhead camshafts, which were driven by a toothed belt. As the smallest model in the Trevi, Lancia offered a 1.6-liter version with 74 kW (101 hp) in many markets (but not in Germany); Above it was a variant with a displacement of 2.0 liters and 85 kW (116 hp). Both engines were equipped with double Weber carburetors. From 1981, however, the larger engine was available as an alternative - exclusively on the German market as a naturally aspirated engine - with electronic intake manifold injection (L-Jetronic) from Bosch , with which it developed 90 kW (122 hp).

Turbocharged engine: Volumex

For the 1982 model year, the Trevi 2000 Volumex appeared as the new top model. His engine was charged with a Roots compressor. The Trevi Volumex was the first mass-produced car with mechanical turbocharging since the end of World War II . The engine was later used in other models of the Fiat group. In addition to the Beta Coupé and the Beta HPE, the Fiat Argenta and the Fiat Spidereuropa were also equipped with the supercharged engine at times . There are different approaches to the history of the creation of the Trevi Volumex. About press releases tried Lancia to establish the compressor as an alternative to turbocharging, and promised them a performance boost without the typical drawbacks turbo, making the so-called primary turbo lag was meant. Some sources, on the other hand, assume that the trigger for the development of the supercharged engine was actually in motor racing: while searching for a powerful engine concept for the Lancia 037 rally sports car , Aurelio Lampredi came across supercharging in 1981. In order to justify the development costs of such an engine, a street version that could be sold in larger numbers had to be developed in parallel.

The addition of the compressor required numerous detailed changes to the four-cylinder engine and its surroundings: the compression was reduced, the pistons were redesigned, the camshafts and the valves had to be adapted and the intake system changed. In addition, there was a modified exhaust system and a new cooling system. The fact that Lancia did not couple the supercharged engine with the intake manifold injection that was already available , but with the conventional Weber carburettors, was widely criticized . The output of the Volumex engine was given as 99 kW (135 PS).

Series 2

In June 1983 Lancia introduced the second series of the sedan, which was no longer called Beta, but only Trevi. The main changes concerned the drive technology and, above all, the gear ratio; their aim was to reduce consumption. The carburettor version of the 2.0-liter engine was omitted. Outwardly, only a few trim parts have changed.

marketing

Lancia did not offer the Trevi on the German market until model year 1982. Initially, only the injection version 2000 IE was available here. The Trevi replaced the Beta Berlina with hatchback, which was initially still in the range in other export markets and in Italy. In Germany, the Trevi 2000 IE was positioned below the Audi 80 CD and the BMW 320 with a base price of DM 21,800 in the 1982 model year . The Alfa Romeo Giulietta was almost as expensive , the larger Fiat Argenta was around 1,500 DM cheaper. The Trevi 2000 Volumex, which was introduced a little later, was around 2,400 DM more expensive than the 2000 IE

production

From 1980 to 1984 Lancia produced 40,628 Trevi with all engines combined. 3844 cars had the Volumex engine.

The Trevi in ​​the press

The German press viewed the Trevi 2000 IE as a mediocre car. The “not very attractive”, “staid-looking notchback” was criticized as well as the “confusing interior”, the problematic driving behavior when fully loaded and the high fuel consumption. Only the above-average suspension comfort was praised.

In the UK, however, where the Trevi was sold as the 1600 and 2000, the press considered drivability to be the Trevi's greatest strength. Another advantage is the space available, which is favored by the very angular structure. The design, on the other hand, is bland and "inappropriately conservative".

The Trevi Volumex Bimotore

Lancia Trevi Volumex Bimotore

As a test vehicle for rallying, Lancia designed the Trevi Volumex Bimotore in 1984 , which was equipped with two supercharged motors of the same size. The reason was the increasing dominance of all-wheel drive vehicles in Group B at the time , in which Lancia fell behind with the rear-wheel drive 037 after initial successes. Since the beginning of 1984, Lancia's engineers have been working on an all-wheel drive successor to the 037, which was based on the compact Delta and was successfully used as the Delta S4 from 1985. During the development of the S4, the engineers were already looking for a way to research the fundamentals of all-wheel drive. The rally driver and Abarth test driver Giorgio Pianta came up with the idea of ​​equipping a production vehicle with two engines for test purposes, each of which should drive an axle: this would make four-wheel drive inexpensive.

The basis for the project was a standard Trevi Volumex with the 2.0 liter supercharged engine. The front-wheel drive remained unchanged. In the passenger compartment, instead of the rear seat bench, a second drive block and the front wheel suspension were installed, which carried a specially designed subframe. The transversely installed motor drove the rear wheels. Initially, a drive-by-wire motor control was planned; however, it did not work properly. Instead, the Lancia engineers resorted to Bowden cables , which improved the response of the second engine, but still did not eliminate all problems. There were also cooling problems with the rear engine.

The Bimotore was purely a test vehicle. Giorgio Pianta described the car as a “rolling laboratory”. A rally was not planned and did not materialize.

Technical specifications

Lancia Beta Trevi
Lancia Trevi
  Trevi 1600 Trevi 2000 Trevi 2000 IE Trevi Volumex
Construction time:  1980-1984 1980-1983 1981-1984 1982-1984
Engine:  Four-cylinder
gasoline engine in series
Displacement:  1585 cc 1981 cc
Bore × stroke:  84.0 x 90.0 mm
Power:  74 kW (101 hp) 85 kW (116 hp) 90 kW (122 hp) 99 kW (135 hp)
Mixture preparation:  Carburetor Manifold injection Carburetor
Valve control:  Toothed belt, two overhead camshafts,
bucket tappets
Cooling:  Water cooling
Transmission:  manual five-speed gearbox
on request three-speed automatic
manual five-speed transmission
Front suspension:  MacPherson struts, wishbones, stabilizer
Rear suspension:  Suspension struts, two wishbones in a row, trailing arm, stabilizer
Brakes:  front and rear disc brakes
Body:  self-supporting, steel
Wheelbase:  2540 mm
Dimensions
(length × width × height): 
4355 × 1705 × 1400 mm
Empty weight:  1213 kg
Top speed:  170 km / h 176 km / h 180 km / h 190 km / h
Acceleration 0-100 km / h:  12.1 s 10.4 s 10.2 s 9.6 s

literature

  • Paul Schinhofen: Lancia. Innovation and fascination . 100 eventful years. Heel Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-89880-649-7
  • Thomas Fischer: bloom of style . Test Lancia Trevi 2000 IE in Auto motor und sport , issue 11/1982, p. 160 ff.

Web links

Commons : Lancia Beta Trevi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Giorgio Garuzzi: Fiat: The Secrets of an Epoch , Springer Science & Business Media, 2014, ISBN 978-3-319-04783-6 , pp 49th
  2. a b c d Thomas Fischer: Stilblüte . Test Lancia Trevi 2000 IE in Auto motor und sport , issue 11/1982, p. 161.
  3. Jan-Hendrik Muche: The compressor comeback. www.autobild.de, March 17, 2014, accessed December 20, 2017 .
  4. The many faces of the Lancia Beta Berlina: press reports on the website www.lancianews.com (accessed on December 23, 2017).
  5. a b N.N .: Lancia Trevi 2000 IE Trevi Brummen. www.auto-motor-und-sport.de, March 1, 2007, accessed on December 20, 2017 .
  6. a b c Paul Schinhofen: Lancia. Innovation and fascination . 100 eventful years. Heel Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-89880-649-7 , S: 85.
  7. Illustration of the dashboard on Marco Bellini's website (www.bellini.it), accessed on December 22, 2017.
  8. a b c Description of the Volumex motor on the website lancia-beta.de .
  9. Thomas Fischer: Stilblüte . Test Lancia Trevi 2000 IE in Auto motor und sport , issue 11/1982, p. 163.
  10. Thomas Fischer: Stilblüte . Test Lancia Trevi 2000 IE in Auto motor und sport , issue 11/1982, p. 160 ff.
  11. Car Magazine , November 1981, p. 101.
  12. Description of the Lancia Trevi Volumex Bimotore on the website www.steeringwheelsblog.wordpress.com (accessed on December 23, 2017).
Timeline of Lancia and Autobianchi models since 1945
Type Lancia, independent until 1969 Purchased by Fiat in 1969, Fiat number range since then
Autobianchi, JV between Bianchi, Fiat and Pirelli from 1967 100% part of the Fiat group abroad as Lancia, in Italy as Autobianchi
1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0
Microcar Bianchina Giardiniera
Small car A112 Y10 (156) Y (840) Ypsilon (843) Ypsilon (846)
Compact class A111 Delta I [2] (831) Delta II (836) Delta III (844)
Middle class Primula Prism (831) Dedra (835) Lybra (839)
... Ardea Appia Fulvia Beta / Trevi (828) Flavia
upper middle class Flavia 2000 Gamma (830) Theme (834 / Y9) Kappa (838) Thesis (841) theme
Coupé / convertible Stellina
Fulvia Coupé / Sport Beta Coupé [1] / Spider / Montecarlo (828)
Aurelia Flaminia Gamma Coupé / GT (830) Kappa Coupé
(838)
Sports car Stratos
Minivan Musa (350)
Van Zeta (220) Phedra (179) Voyager

[1] also built by Seat in Spain
[2] also sold as Saab Lancia 600 in Scandinavia

  • Distributed under the “Autobianchi” brand
  • In Italy under the “Autobianchi” brand, abroad as “Lancia”
  • Lancia models, developed together with PSA and also built by SEVEL as Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat
  • Lancia models, from the cooperation with Chrysler , sold as Lancia in Europe