You may find it hard to believe, but what you're looking at here is not one of Carscoop's photoshops but the first official photo of the new Chrysler 300-based Lancia Thema saloon, which will receive its grand premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1. The new Thema marks the beginning of consolidation of the product portfolios of the Lancia and Chrysler brands, and will continue with models in other segments.
Here's how Lancia describes the Thema: "The first global flagship that combines the best of two worlds, the new rear-drive vehicle was created based on the Chrysler 300 and is ready, like the first Thema back in 1984, to take on the toughest, but also the most prestigious segment, striving to offer, at long last, a genuine alternative."
If you're familiar with the new 2011 Chrysler 300, there's not much to say about the Thema other than it gets Lancia badging, restyled lower air inlets and fog lamp surrounds on the front bumper, Poltrona Frau leather interiors and probably the most interesting part, a new 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel supplied by Italian manufacturer VM and some suspension revisions.
The V6 oil-burner is Euro 5 compliant and will be offered in two states of tune, delivering 190HP and 224HP with 550Nm of peak torque, respectively. Both versions of the diesel engine come fitted with a 5-speed automatic gearbox as standard.
The Thema will also be offered with the Chrysler 300's base 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 gasoline engine producing 292 HP at 6400 rpm and maximum torque of 353 Nm at 4800 rpm. Power is sent to the rear-wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission, with the Thema said to be capable of a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph) and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.2 seconds. Lancia's flagship model returns a combined fuel consumption of 8.3 lt/100km (28.3 mpg) with CO2 emissions of 199 g/km. A hybrid variant is also in the works and could be revealed as early as late 2012.
The rear-wheel drive sedan will go on sale in all European dealerships from October with two available two trim levels - Gold and Platinum.
___________________________LANCIA THEMA___________________________
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___________________________CHRYSLER 300____________________________
26 Comments:
it's not ugly...but ......also not beauty
Thankfully a cascade of Lancia new models!
Oh wait... these are not new,
I think they remind me of something
but still I cannot tell what...
Ah yes, it is all about some reheated old Chrysler products which till last time I remember they had been a whole bunch of crap!
Certainly I am sure they still are crap,
but this time our friends who like the Italian badges will hurry up telling us how gorgeous and gifted they are as badge-engineered Lancias...
For sure it was ugly as a Chrysler and it is even more ugly as a Lancia.
Im confused the 300 and thema will be sold in the same markets why would anyone choose one over the other. I really hope they at least gave it a new interior
When I look to the the Lancia 200 (its blasphemy to call it Fulvia), this one becomes acceptable.
Very pretty indeed.
The Cosa Nostra spec 300C!
Now the US Mafiosi brothers rolling in Chrysler 300Cs will have an aftermarket way to 'show' their Italian heritage, lol.
Better than the 200 Flavia
@anonymous........its a flavia, not a fulvia....yet still blasphemy
@anonymous........it wont be sold in the same market as a chrysler. thats the whole point of the rebadge. its a stupid idea to rebadge it at all, but even they arent stupid enough to sell both cars in the same market
I was under the impression that this car would mark the return of Lancia to the UK, the 300 is also sold in the UK
@anonymous.....its a chrysler in the uk. sad but true. supposedly they think that chrysler would be a safer option. in my opinion, i recon there is more of a fan base for lancia in the uk, based on all the comments i've read that asked for lancia back. dont think i have seen one that would prefer chrysler. they recon the uk is not european enough to have lancia. quite insulting really. chryslers have never sold well here, and never will. they still have time to rectify this issue, but i cant imagine they will
I don't think dropping a Ferrari engine is going to make this one any good,sadly...
It might just work... if all potential Lancia buyers are mugs.
Fairly attractive design. But, good luck competing with the Euro luxury brands.
i can't believe that a company would turf it's heritage out as easy as that. it reminds me of when alfa romeo put its name on a nissan pulsar - beam me up scotty, this planets's gone mad.
I had a Chrysler 300C-Hemi to which I had no problems at all mechanically or electrically. Daimler massaged that car to a point where it was a dream to own.
I traded it in for a new 5-series BMW with it's "Free Maintenance Program". I now know why BMW has offered this program. The bugger is in the shop all the time. Mostly electrical, some mechanical. The dealership has my car more than I do. I thought that because it was "European", it would be a much better vehicle to own. The thing is crap.
Needless to say, I'm selling my BMW once I take delivery of my new Chrylser.
wait, soooo you claim that daimpler massaged the old 300 to a point where it was a dream to own, and in the next paragraph you compain about european cars not being reliable?
You do know that dime-ler is european right?
I mean I'm with you about german cars not being reliable (i unfortunately own an Audi, and that thing is in the shop the whole time, and eve when it's not it's just a POS quality-wise), but your 2 sentences don't make sense...
The 2011/2012 Chrysler 300C is an excellent,world-class automobile from once lame-duck American automobile industry,I'm confident of.
Yet her chunky styling and somewhat antiseptic inside/out hardly match glorious Lancia pedigree.
Frankly speaking,it's a sort of "badge-engineering" in my notion. On the other hand,the previous Chrysler heritage could be traded off since its bankruptcy,the "newly-born" Chrysler under Fiat capital would be as sensible and sophisticated on its image,if so the new Lancia Thema will become a respectable product in fierce EU market. So I expect how she competes with formidable rivals from the Mercedes E-class and the BMW 5-series to the V6-powered VW Passat here!
The Chrysler 300/Charger/Magnum, (300 Estate in Europe) had older Mercedes tech forced on them by Daimler in order to justify their own inability to amortize their engineering costs. That technology has been revised to the point that there is no more 'mercedes' in Chryslers anymore, Thank God. Component failure on Chrysler models can be directly related to the use of 'mercedes' technology. The new 300 model is on a heavily revised platform that supercedes the 'old' LX platform, now referred to as the LY platform. All reviews of the new 300 have been unanimous in their praise for this vehicle, which offers a world class driving experience at a cost the European manufacturers can't touch, which is why they like to trash this excellent vehicle. Too bad you overtaxed Euros don't get the Hemi model, which will smoke ANYTHING anywhere near its price point. I'll drive this 'Lancia' over any german crap you can name and save 20,000 euros doing it. BTW, posters, I do drive one, and you really shouldn't comment on these blogs if you're too ashamed or embarrassed to identify yourselves. Re; badge engineering - That refers to 2 cars in the same market, not to cars in different locales. Chrysler is no longer in mainland Europe, only the U.K. and Ireland, therefor the "Lancia" designation. NOT badge engineering as Chysler and Lancia are merging into one car line with 2 separate markets.
james: thank you for setting these chrysler haters straight! the chrysler/fiat merger may prove eventually what both companies need.
the 300 is greatly loved in the states for good reasons--and looks WOW in person! now it's refined significantly! The challenger and charger rocks too!
Having purchased 2 off Chrysler 300 CRD model saloons for Chauffeur and Wedding Hire,
I can only sing their praises.They are very popular for all types of Private Hire work and we find them very economical and reliable ! I feel a rename from Chrysler to Lancia Thema will have a negative impact on our business. Does this mean the Chrysler version will no longer be available in yhe UK ?
Disillusioned:- Devon
Do robbers now rent cars rather than steal them or do you cater to gypsy weddings?
I just purchased a 2011 300 limited and its a fantastic car full of nothing but value.
Seems like you are driving a car that cost at least twice as much....
Great job Chrysler......haters gonna hate :)
I just passed a car carrier full of the Lancia Thema's on US Route 11/15 outside of Harrisburg, PA this morning....Are these being sold in the US now?
Thata a were my cars awent.
na che dcesso!
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