June 27, 2007 Fiat-owned Italian luxury auto manufacturer Lancia has partnered with MomoDesign to create a designer version of the company’s Ypsilon mini to be known as the Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign which hit the Italian market last week. The most stunning aspect of the car is its 105 bhp 1.3 multijet, 16V engine diesel engine which gives it a top speed of 177 km/h. So what? Well, that makes it faster than you’re legally allowed to drive anywhere, and the low carbon footprint of the vehicle makes you feel like a responsible citizen the while the 4.7 l/100 km fuel consumption will make you feel intelligent. Yes, we know that still means diddly to most people, so how does 60mpg (UK) and 50 mpg (US) sound?
The Lancia Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign opens a new chapter in the collaboration between two brands that are famous throughout the world for their contribution to Italian industrial design.
Lancia and MomoDesign have created a very personal stylistic language which makes their creations stand out among so many mass-produced products. This is borne out, for example, by the exclusive items of clothing and accessories designed and developed by the MomoDesign Styling Centre: helmets, watches, sunglasses, shoes and leather goods. They are unique products in the fashion world, just as Lancia creations are unique in theirs. In this sense, the new Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign is an example of how an ‘automotive object’ can be reinterpreted from a stylistic viewpoint with another brand, highlighting the expressive features that have always distinguished Lancia: elegance and attitude.
With the new Sport MomoDesign version, the new Ypsilon extends its range to appeal to young drivers who are looking for a sporty car at an accessible price, that provides emotion at the wheel but still maintains all the elegance and distinction that are the reason for the success of Lancia’s compact.
On the outside, the car sports the new Lancia logo and a number of stylistic and chromatic features typical of products from MomoDesign, for example the four bodywork colours (Masaccio Black, Borromini Grey, Casorati Yellow and Raphael White), combined with the exclusive opaque Titanium Grey of the tailgate, the roof and the wing mirrors. The ‘outfit’ of the Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign is completed by burnished metalluro finishing details on certain elements, foglights with colour-coded frames, black tone-on-tone ‘MomoDesign’ graphics on the central pillar and original 16” diamond effect burnished alloy wheels.
The same sporty styling is evident inside, where the dark panelling of the passenger compartment sets off the black of the technological Airtex fabric on the seats and the leather of the steering wheel and gear lever knob, and the Ypsilon logo on the head-restraints adds an elegant touch. And for extra sportiness the seats can be upholstered with Leather and Alcantara Starlite, with perforations through which a silver ‘MomoDesign’ is visible.
Whoever loves driving will find that the compact new Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign guarantees sparkling performance on every road, providing great sensations for the driver and passengers, thanks to the low suspension and disc brakes front and rear.
Where the engines are concerned, the most assertive is the sparkling 1.3 Multijet 16V which delivers 105 bhp at 4000 rpm and 200 Nm (20.4 kgm) of torque at 1750 rpm. With this engine and a 5-speed gearbox, the car has a top speed of 177 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.5 seconds. Excellent performance that makes this car the most powerful compact in its class. In spite of which consumption and CO2 emissions are low, as they are on the entire Multijet range: 4.7 l/100 km in the combined cycle and 123 g/km.
The Sport MomoDesign range will include a petrol version with a 1.4 16v engine that delivers 95 bhp, which is more entertaining to drive, thanks to a 6-speed manual gearbox (the sequential, robotised DFN gearbox is also available). And finally, motorists who wish to combine the handling of a sports car with respect for the environment in a compact, are offered the 90 bhp 1.3 Multijet 16v, which fits the DPF particulate filter as standard equipment.The most striking characteristics of the Lancia Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign are its original styling and excellent performance. But it is also lavishly equipped: climate control, ‘Dual Drive’ electric power steering, Hi-Fi radio-CD player, remote control door opening and closing, Follow me home device, dark rear windows, perforated leather upholstery on the steering wheel and gear lever knob with silver overstitching. On the outside, the car has diamond-effect burnished 16” alloys and colour-coded twin electric wing mirrors. In the safety field, the new Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign is equipped with ABS complete with EBD, front airbags and curtain-bags (sidebags are available as an option) and the sophisticated ESP system with ASR and a Hill Holder. The lavish array of equipment also features electric front windows, a split, folding, tilting rear seat and a steering wheel that adjusts for height and reach. And finally, there is a long list of optional equipment that includes the GranLuce sunroof, dual zone automatic climate control, a Bose sound system, a satellite navigator and the Blue&Me; system.
At a later date, a rear spoiler will also be available, the ideal solution to make this sporty compact look even more aggressive.
The Ypsilon Sport MomoDesign hit the market in Italy last week, and will gradually strengthen the new Ypsilon range in all the other markets over coming months.
The new Sport MomoDesign version obviously inherits all the distinction and prestige inherent in the new Ypsilon, a car that combines the excellence of the styling with cutting-edge technology. Just like all the best Italian luxury products, names that are famous throughout the world. The new Ypsilon was designed and developed for a clientele that likes to stand out with exclusive products, and for whom a car must be first and foremost a pleasure to use.
And like all the best Italian luxury products, the new Ypsilon exudes stylistic refinement, perfect colour combinations and endless possibilities to customise this ‘pocket flagship’, over 700 in fact, by combining 12 bodywork colours, 4 specifications (Argento, Oro Bianco, Oro Giallo and Platino), 9 new ‘bicolore’ liveries, 9 different interior outfits and 7 types of alloy (including those from Linea Accessori). Whatever the level of customisation, the new Ypsilon is always appealing and original, typical of the Italian good taste that is famous around the world.
So the new Ypsilon demonstrates, yet again, the great versatility of this ‘pocket flagship’, a successful model with which Lancia enters a future in which the product will not be the only ‘premium’ topic that sets it aside from the competition, nor will it be the only motivating factor that stimulates a potential buyer. Which is why the brand has looked at important novelties in terms of sales and after-sales, to meet the desires, needs, tastes and aspirations of so many different customers.
For example, in Italy customers are offered the ‘Lancia VYP Service’ which includes roadside assistance and a courtesy service that collects and redelivers the car for periodical maintenance checks. This means that, for two years, in other words for the entire warranty period, the customer does not have to worry about taking the car to the workshop for periodical maintenance because Lancia will deal with it, guaranteeing the customer’s mobility in the meantime. In the event of a breakdown, a puncture, an empty fuel tank, etc, the mobile workshop will intervene to solve the problem rapidly. It is a revolutionary service designed specifically for a ‘premium’ customer.
