Lancia Kappa

Lancia Kappa History

The Kappa has a front-engine, front-drive, five passenger, left-hand drive design.

After its debut at the 1994 Paris Auto Show, production reached 117,216, over six years. The Kappa was manufactured at the Fiat factory in Tetti Francesi, Rivalta di Torino and was designed by the Lancia Style Center in collaboration with the I.DE.A Institute.

Lancia had earlier used the Kappa nameplate for the 1919 Kappa, with evolutions called Dikappa and Trikappa).

Kappa is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, Lancia having frequently used the Greek letters for its model nameplates. In writing, Lancia often referred to the Kappa simply as the k (lower case “k”), which is fairly similar to the original Greek letter κ.

In Poland, where Fiat Auto is the largest domestic car manufacturer, the Kappa served as official government cars (replacing Themas).[7]

Autocar’s Peter Robinson reviewed the Kappa in November 1994.[9] He commented on the car’s bland styling which was justified by Fiat’s Paolo Cantarella on the basis that the designers did not want to create too much “visual noise.” The body was reported as having twice the torsional rigidity of the outgoing Thema, and was 15 percent stiffer than any of its rivals.

The automatic Aisin-Warner gearbox (50-40 LE type) was shared with the Volvo 850. Robinson went on to say “the Kappa´s dimensions ensure a commodious interior, the impression of space only heightened by a low cowl and very Japanese-looking fascia, somewhere between a Honda NSX and Lexus LS400.”

Rear cabin room was described as “immense” but the cushion was criticised for being too flat, a fault rectified in later iterations of the car. Robinson criticised the “horrid mock wood with which Lancia frames the prominent central console that runs from the handbrake, up the full length of the dash and over the top.” About the driving characteristics, Robinson wrote: “If Lancia quietened the starter motor, this would be one refined drivetrain…with no hint of any 5-cylinder unevenness.” The 2.4 litre engine tested appeared to have been tuned for low-end torque, a characteristic of this Alpine brand.

The engine was praised by Robinson for its “smooth responsiveness” and “torque steer has been eliminated…and the Servotronic steering is terrific, with just the right degree of self-centering.” His summary of ride and handling was that car was better than average but not class-leading: “On the Lancia there is too much body roll and the front grip in the wet didn’t inspire confidence.”