LANCIA BETA SALOON

4-door 5-seater saloon.

First ever 'Fiat-Lancia', with transverse Fiat-derived twin cam engine and five-speed transmission. Style looked hatchback but was convetional saloon. Really a replacement for Flavia range, it had front-wheel drive and good stability and roadholding. Power outputs ranged form 82bhp to 122bhp, depending on engine size and year produced. A good idea which went wrong, due to appalling rust problems, well publicised. Even so, gave rise to smart coupé in 1973, and HPE derivatives in 1975 (see below).