Lancia Lybra

History

The late 1990s were a dark period for the Italian group Fiat and its automotive subsidiaries. Losses were mounting, and the group's management, led by Italian-American financier Mr. Fresco, former second-in-command at General Electric, was determined to divest from the automotive division.

In this context, Lancia, needing to replace the Lancia Dedra, introduced the new Lybra. Based on the same platform as the Fiat Bravo, Brava, and Marea, it received less attention in terms of bodywork and had to settle for a rather bland exterior, although it was not lacking in a certain elegance.

Like its predecessor, it was available as a sedan (launched in France in September 1999) and as an "SW" estate (in April 2000). Equipped with modern, fuel-efficient engines, it was hampered by the brand's lack of financial resources to maintain its leading position among its competitors. Unlike its cousin, the Alfa Romeo 156, it did not receive any facelifts and its engines underwent few changes over the years.

Production of the vehicle ceased in 2005, and new management launched the Lancia Delta III in July 2008, which virtually replaced it.

Name

The model's name refers to the zodiac sign of Libra and signalled an end to Lancia's Greek letter model name convention. The Lybra was manufactured in the Rivalta plant near Turin until 2002 and after that in Mirafiori plant in Turin.

Styling

The Lybra was styled at the Centro Stile Lancia, contrary to earlier Lancia models, which were commissioned to external design studios. Initial models were carried out by Enrico Fumia in 1992 and by the time of his departure from Centro Stile Lancia, the project was finished by Michael Robinson. The interior was designed by Flavio Manzoni.

The Lybra's distinctive taillights were shared with the 2001 facelift of the Fiat Marea sedan for the Latin American markets.

Trim levels

At launch, the standard trim levels were called Lybra, LS and LX. In 2003, the Business and LS Plus trims were added in some markets, the Business trim has fabric seats, and wood decor on the interior while the LS Plus trim has Suhara or Madras upholstery and silver decor on the doors and the dashboard. The Emblema debuting in November 2002 at the Bologna Motor Show. It was inspired by the classic Lancia Flaminia and came with tobacco brown or beige leather interior (optional Alcantara), magnesium dashboard trim, exclusive 16 inch (10 spoke) alloy wheels, privacy glass and a gloss painted black roof.

Base model equipment: Electric front windows, 5" color display on the dashboard, dual zone heating system (without A/C), rear vents (one in the middle, and two on the bottom of the seats), ABS, EBD, 4 airbags (front and side), seatbelt pretensioner, electrically adjustable door mirrors with electric heating, electronic lumbar support and height adjustable driver's seat, 4-way adjustable steering wheel, arm rest front (with storage compartment) and rear (with cup holder), 5 three point seat belts and five headrests, ambient light in the bottom and inside of the doors, remote key, FPS system. 15" wheels, and 195/65 R15 tyres.

Optional equipment: A/C, GPS navigation with a GSM phone, electronic adjustable front seats, 4 electronic windows (up and down automatic), electrochromic rearview mirror, rain sensor, demister sensor, leather, Alcantara or Suhara (after 15.12.2003) seats, electrically adjustable door mirrors with fold function, sunroof, cruise control, Bose sound system with 7 speakers, 6 disc CD changer, AUX, 6 airbags (2 front, 2 side, and 2 side curtain), three 180W cigarette lighter sockets, xenon headlights, headlight washers, Nivomat self-levelling hydropneumatic rear suspension, fog lights, 60/40 split fold-down rear seats (optional for Berlina), multifunction leather steering wheel and gear knob, ASR with hill-holder (only for the 1.9 JTD, 2.0 20v, 2.4 JTD), 15" wheels and 205/60 or 16" 205/55 tyres.

LX trim equipment: Alcantara interior, leather steering wheel with radio control buttons, leather gear knob, Bose sound-system, cruise control (for 2.0 petrol), foglight, A/C, alloy wheels. The equipment is modified during the production, and depends on the market.

Special editions

Four special editions of the Lybra were offered during its production run:

Business: Only in two colours (435 Blu Lancia and 612 Grigio Elisa Met), and two engines (1.6 16v or 1.9 JTD). Interior in basic grey cloth. Higher Trim level like than base model Lybra, added rear electric windows, 6 AirBag and fog light.

Executive: This model was focused on luxury and featured leather or Alcantara seats and all optional equipment as standard (demister sensor, sunroof, photocromatic rearview mirror, foldable side mirrors, heated seats, satellite navigation, GSM Phone, Cruise control, xenon headlights and headlamp washer, Nivomat rear suspension, Bose sound system), along with special 15-spoke 16” alloy wheels. Only two engines were available for this model, the 2.0 20v petrol, and 2.4 JTD diesel.

Intensa: The Intensa Edition is characterised with its dark accents consisting of darkened front grille, and darkened chrome around the outside, on the lights, license plate light cover, chrome strip on the bumpers and the doors, dark grey pentagram-shaped alloy wheels. An exclusive dark grey exterior colour called the 'Grigio Fontana' was also available for this trim. On the interior, the Intensa featured a combination of black leather and dark grey Alcantara seats with a dark wood insert on the doors and the dashboard, a chrome door handle, black background with chrome rings in the gauge cluster, chrome anchor points in the trunk and a Bose sound system as standard. Only 4 engines were available, 1.8 (for Nedherlands), 1.9 JTD, 2.0 20v petrol, and 2.4 JTD.

Emblema: Available with 1.9 JTD, 2.4 JTD or 2.0 20v engines. Titanium trimmed console and interior details. Black roof option in SW (with black ‘railings’). Special 20-spoke 16” wheels. Interior trim could be chosen from beige leather, Alcantara or Suhara (after 15.12.2003) tobacco leather or tobacco Suhara interior colour options. This trim us above of the Executive and LX, Bose, GPS, dimmed interior mirror is optional.

Specifications

The Lancia Lybra has a front-wheel drive layout with transversely-mounted engines. The Lybra is available with a 5-speed manual transmission. Models equipped with the 2.0 L engine had an option of a 4-speed Aisin automatic transmission, called the Comfortronic by Lancia. The 2.4 diesel was upgraded in 2000 and gained some additional power. In 2002 Fiat revised it again and it gained another ten horsepower, for a total of 150.

The Lybra utilises MacPherson struts at the front and BLG ("Bracci Longitudinali Guidati", translating to "Guided Longitudinal Arms") multilink rear suspension at the rear. Estate versions were also available with Boge-Nivomat self-levelling hydropneumatic rear suspension. The car uses four-wheel disk brakes, with front ventilated, ABS with EBD and optional ASR with hill-holder.

Sales

The Lancia Lybra failed to meet its initial sales targets. These were set at 55,000 to 65,000 a year.

The following are sales in Europe, which absorbed the majority of the vehicle's production:

References

References

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17. Europe = EU27 + UK + Switzerland + Norway + Iceland
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