Lancia Kappa

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Lancia Kappa
Lancia Kappa SW
Manufacturer Lancia
Parent company Fiat Group
Production 1994-2001
Predecessor Lancia Thema
Successor Lancia Thesis
Class Executive car
Body style 5-door estate
2-door coupé
4-door saloon
Layout FF layout
Platform Type E[1]
Engine Petrol:
2.0 L turbocharged I4
2.0 L I5
2.0 L turbocharged I5
2.4 L I5
3.0 L V6
Diesel:
2.4 L turbodiesel I5
Transmission 5-speed manual
4-speed automatic [2]
Wheelbase Saloon/estate: 2700 mm
Coupé: 2520 mm [3]
Length Saloon/estate: 4687 mm
Coupé: 4567 mm [3]
Width Saloon/estate: 1826 mm
Coupé: 1830 mm [3][4]
Height Saloon/estate: 1462 mm
Coupé: 1425 mm [3]
Curb weight 1425-1580 kg [2]
Fuel capacity 70 L [4]
Related Alfa Romeo 166
Similar Renault Safrane
Rover 800
Saab 9-5
Lancia Kappa Coupé
Lancia Kappa Coupé
Lancia Kappa Coupé - rear view
Lancia Kappa Coupé - rear view

The Lancia Kappa is an executive car produced by Italian automaker Lancia. It replaced the Thema as Lancia's flagship model in 1994 and was itself replaced by Lancia Thesis in 2001. It shared its platform with the Alfa Romeo 166 and was available as a saloon, estate or coupé. The Kappa was only available in left-hand drive, as Lancia pulled out of right-hand drive markets after the demise of the Thema.

Lancia Kappa SW
Lancia Kappa SW

Kappa is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet. Greek letters have frequently been used to denote Lancia models. Back in 1919, Lancia had already produced a Kappa (and its later evolutions called Dikappa and Trikappa)[2], but these are far less known nowadays than the 1990s Kappa. In writing, Lancia often referred to the Kappa simply as the k (lower case "k"), which is fairly similar to the original Greek letter.

The Kappa was not particularly popular, with only 80,000 made in total. [4] Italy remained Kappa's most important market, absorbing the bulk of sales. It is also worth noting that in Poland, where Fiat Auto is the biggest domestic car manufacturer, Kappas served as official government cars (replacing Themas). This boosted the Kappa's profile in that country and gave it a peculiar cachet, which is why the Kappa enjoys a solid enthusiast base there.

Contents

[edit] Model history

  • 1994 - Kappa production begins.
  • 1996 - An estate car joins the lineup. The naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre gasoline engine is fitted with a variable geometry inlet manifold. Inside the cabin, the seats are replaced by a new design, including new upholstery patterns.
  • 1997 - The coupé is launched, while at the same time, some changes are made to the interior, trunk, suspension and engine bay, as well as new alloy wheels.
  • 1998 - The 2.0 L turbocharged four-cylinder engine gets replaced by the five-cylinder, while the turbodiesel was upgraded to a JTD engine. The bumper guards, previously black, are changed to body-coloured, and the base trim level, LE, is dropped, leaving only the more lavish LS and LX. At the same time, a special trim level is introduced for the turbocharged gasoline engine, called simply the "Turbo", distinguished by the lack of chrome decals around the window frames. The interior materials are also upgraded across the lineup, including the addition of a leather-wrapped steering wheel and front central armrest.
  • 1999 - The other two five-cylinder engines are modified along with the air conditioning unit.
  • 2000 - The Kappa gains xenon HID headlamps. Production ceased in mid-2000 (Coupé's earlier in the year). [2][4]

[edit] Kappa SW and Coupé

The station wagon version of the Kappa, designated "SW" by Lancia, was designed by the famous Pininfarina and did not differ from the saloon in exterior dimensions - the focus was clearly on presentation rather than cargo space. [2]

The Coupé was, on the other hand, technically quite different from the saloon, having a shorter wheelbase, wider rear track and a distinctive profile with frameless doors. Despite that the front until the window screen remained identical to that of the other Kappas. It was Lancia's first coupé since 1984, when the Beta and Gamma coupés were discontinued, and remains the last Lancia to feature this body style to this day. The peculiar shape of the Kappa Coupé was not to everybody's liking, which contributed to very low sales and production numbers - 3620 coupes only were manufactured from April 1997 to March 2000, making this model a true rarity. [2]

[edit] Engines

The Kappa had engines fitted transversely, all powering only the front wheels. They were available with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, unless otherwise indicated. [2][4]

[edit] 2.0 20V

  • 1998 cc, straight-5, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder, 145/155 PS (108.1/115.6 kW), 182/186 N·m (134/137 lb·ft)
  • uprated to 155 PS in 1996, after the addition of a variable geometry inlet manifold, called the Variable Intake System (V.I.S) by Lancia
  • modified again in 1999
  • there were two versions of the manual transmission available for this engine, called Power Drive and Comfort Drive, with gear ratios optimized towards the former or the latter, respectively
  • this engine was not available in the Coupé

[edit] 2.4 20V

[edit] 3.0 V6 24V

[edit] 2.0 16v turbo

[edit] 2.0 20V turbo

[edit] 2.4 TDS/JTD

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Automotive Design and Production, Feb 2002, accessed via FindArticles.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g CarsFromItaly.com Lancia Kappa page accessed via the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d Lancia specifications at carfolio.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Polish Lancia Kappa enthusiast page (Polish)
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LANCIA

1918-1945: Aprilia · Ardea · Artena · Astura · Augusta · Dilambda · Kappa · Lambda

1945-1980: Appia · Aurelia · Beta · Flaminia · Flavia · Fulvia · Gamma · Monte Carlo · Stratos

1980-2000: Dedra · Delta · Delta S4 · Kappa · Lybra · Prisma · Thema · Y10 · Ypsilon · Zeta · 037 (Group B)

Current models: Musa · Phedra · Thesis · Ypsilon

Clubs: Lancia Motor Club (UK)
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