Lancia and the Perilous Return of the Elephant

Lancia officially announces the arrival of two new sporty versions of its city car Ypsilon. The revival of the HF?

According to a well-established pattern in the automotive industry, Lancia is introducing a high-performance version Ypsilon HF and a sporty-looking range Ypsilon HF Line.

The Lancia Ypsilon HF stands out with its 280-horsepower engine already well-established within the Stellantis brands. It is also used in the new Peugeot E-208 GTI. To date, this is the most powerful version offered based on the Ypsilon. It includes specific technical and stylistic features tailored to this positioning, notably an adapted suspension, exclusive body elements, and a specific interior treatment. This version is part of Lancia’s revival in the compact segment with a strong personality.

The Ypsilon HF Line range complements this offering with a more accessible approach. It adopts some aesthetic codes from the HF universe, including the specific badge, while relying on more accessible engines. It aims to broaden the distribution of the HF style within the range, without integrating the performance of the HF version.

Worthy of the HF badge?

The two models debut a new HF logo, designed as a contemporary interpretation of the historical symbol. It combines the HF acronym with its legendary mascot, a stylized elephant. This new emblem graphically draws inspiration from the logo of the Fulvia Coupé from 1966, while the inclination of the letters recalls that of the logo used on the Lancia Delta in the 1990s.

The HF emblem, used since the 1960s, refers to High Fidelity, originally a name given to a team of passionate customers. It was adopted by the HF Squadra Corse, founded in 1963 by Cesare Fiorio, to designate the sporty versions of Lancia models engaged in competition. The badge is associated with several international rally victories, notably with the Fulvia, Stratos, and Delta.

The Lancia Ypsilon HF is already offered in Spain at €41,519, a price that places it in direct competition with the Alpine A290 GT Performance (€41,700) and the electric Peugeot E-208 GTi. Let’s hope for the Italian model that it can stand out from its French rivals who, without any chauvinism, have a little extra soul that is hard to discern in the Ypsilon.

With the introduction of the Ypsilon HF and HF Line, Lancia continues to renew its range while reusing elements from its sporting heritage. It remains to be seen whether the brand’s customers, deprived of sporty models for years, will find themselves in this modern interpretation.

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