Cool Wall: 1972-1984 Lancia Beta

[Snikle]

Poll 1428: 1972-1984 Lancia Beta nominated by @Neddo

Body Style: 4-door fastback saloon (Berlina), 4 door notchback saloon (Trevi), 2-door coupe, 3-door estate (HPE), 2 door targa (Spider)
Engine: 1.4-2.0l I4
Power: 82-133 HP
Torque: 192-252 lb-ft
Weight: 1000-1195 kg
Tranmission: 3-speed automatic, 5-speed manual
Drivetrain: front-engine, front-wheel drive
Additional Info: This nomination excludes Montecarlo

Spoiler: Additional Pictures

 

[Snikle]

Stylishly, it ranges from an uncool (Trevi and Berlina) to high cool/border SZ for the coupe. Performance-wise, meh or low cool I guess? FWD and not super powerful, but the coupes at least are pretty light. I guess this averages out to like a meh overall. I'd still rock one if given the chance.

 

[JohnBM01]

There aren't many Lancias I consider beautiful, let alone remotely attractive. Then too, at least they aren't atrocious in design like Matsuoka or Ssangyong. This Lancia Beta doesn't seem impressive performance-wise even for its time. Its styling, though, is quite nice. There isn't too much for me to say this is a cool car, so I'm going Meh here.

 

[05XR8]

Gave it a Cool, as my brother had an ‘81 Zagato Special Edition. Definitely lacked in power, but the brakes were good.

Four of us in the Zagato and looked like four college kids, in a BMW 2002 Tii, left us in the dust on the freeway. From the Tappan Zee Bridge to Yonkers. Fun times.

 

[EngieDiesel]

The rust scandal that surrounded the Beta did a lot to damage Lancia's reputation at the time, even though some of it was rather undeserved due to poor reporting and unfounded rumors. Apparently they were pretty good handling cars for their time though.

Normally I wouldn't care much as it's not terribly spectacular otherwise, but it's got an interesting footnote in automotive history and I like cars that have interesting backstories, so Meh from me.

 

[Centroid]

If it was the coupe (and its variants) only it would be Cool (not quite SZ), if it was the Berlina and Trevi it would be uncool. I'm sure they would be good to drive though. Overall Meh (although the wacky dashboard of the Trevi and later Berlinas almost scrapes it a cool)

 

[TheCracker]

Pretty two and three door versions, four doors are just unremarkable average-looking euro saloons of the 70s.

They were fairly common to see when i was a kid and i do recall them being prone to rust even when fairly new. My mum had a similar era Alfa Sud at the time and that rusted as soon as it left the forecourt. So the rust-prone tag that italian cars, and some British cars of the era, received was very much justified.

Uncool.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Pretty two and three door versions, four doors are just unremarkable average-looking euro saloons of the 70s.

They were fairly common to see when i was a kid and i do recall them being prone to rust even when fairly new. My mum had a similar era Alfa Sud at the time and that rusted as soon as it left the forecourt. So the rust-prone tag that italian cars, and some British cars of the era, received was very much justified.

Uncool.

Yeah, the Alfasud is very notorious for breaking out into orange measles while still sitting on the dealer's lot. Rustproofing was a thing most car companies never fully figured out until the late '80s; either the processes were inadequate, they didn't account for saltwater when shipping cars overseas, or simply couldn't be bothered to do it (hello Chevy Citation, yes I am pointing at you). It didn't help that a lot of older cars had bodies that seemed to be designed to trap water in places where it would do the most damage.

 

[ZGBox]

The coupe and the HPE alone makes the entire lineup cool for me, even if the others aren't that good looking.
Also I want a Volumex, it's fondly remembered here in Italy and it was quite fast (and rare)