The Lancia Montecarlo, type 137, was a two-seater sports car built from 1975 to 1981 in two series. It was designed and built by Pininfarina, had a mid-mounted engine driving the rear wheels, and took its name from Lancia’s earlier wins on the Monte Carlo Rally. The first series was sold as the Lancia Beta Montecarlo, and a modified Spider was sold in the United States as the Lancia Scorpion.
Lancia Montecarlo at a glance
| Maker | Lancia, built by Pininfarina |
|---|---|
| Production | 1975–1981 |
| Type | two-seater mid-engined sports car |
| Bodies | fixed-head coupé, open Spider |
| Engine | 1,995 cc twin-cam four |
| Power | 120 PS |
| Top speed | over 190 km/h |
| Acceleration | 0–100 km/h in 9.3 seconds |
| Gearbox | five-speed manual |
| Suspension | MacPherson struts |
| Brakes | discs front and rear |
| Built | 7,798 |
History of the Lancia Montecarlo
From Fiat project to Lancia
In the late 1960s Fiat planned replacements for the coupé and spider versions of its 850 and 124 ranges and looked at mid-engined proposals from two design houses. Bertone’s idea became the Fiat X1/9; Pininfarina proposed a slightly larger car with a 3-litre V6, called X1/8, meant to be the first car it developed and built entirely in-house. Design work began in 1969 and Paolo Martin finished the shape in 1971. During the first oil crisis the project became X1/20 and the V6 gave way to a 2-litre four-cylinder engine, and the production car went to Lancia as a more exclusive alternative to the X1/9.
Mechanicals and first series
The Montecarlo used the new 2-litre Lampredi twin-cam four from the 124 Sport Coupé, mounted transversely behind the driver, with MacPherson strut suspension, a five-speed gearbox and disc brakes at both ends. Because it shared very little with the other Beta models, Pininfarina was chosen to build it completely. The car was unveiled at the Geneva Salon in March 1975 as the Lancia Beta Montecarlo, with 120 PS at 6,000 rpm, a claimed top speed of more than 190 km/h and 0–100 km/h in 9.3 seconds. Two badges sat low on the tail, one reading Lancia Beta and the other Montecarlo, and the first series had 13-inch bow-tie alloy wheels and buttresses above the engine bay that were solid on the very earliest cars and glazed for most of the run.
The Scorpion for America
The open-roof Spider had a large patented canvas roof retracting between solid A and B pillars. For the United States it was federalised and sold for 1976 and 1977 as the Lancia Scorpion, to avoid a name clash with the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, with badge text reading Scorpion on the right of the tail. To meet American emission rules a smaller 1.8-litre twin-cam engine was fitted with milder camshafts, a smaller carburettor and a compression ratio of 8.0:1, producing 81 hp. Five-mile-per-hour bumpers and low-rise pop-up sealed-beam headlights satisfied crash and lighting rules but added some 59 kg, and extra vents on the engine cover were needed to cool the catalyst. 1,805 Scorpions were built.
Second series and legacy
After a two-year pause the revised second series arrived in 1980 without the Beta prefix. It had the corporate split grille introduced with the 1979 Delta, glazed rear buttresses, a full-width brushed aluminium strip on the tail instead of model badges, larger 14-inch eight-spoke alloy wheels, a three-spoke Momo steering wheel and an engine with a higher compression ratio, Marelli electronic ignition and a new carburettor; the brake servo was dropped to address a brake-lockup problem. Production ran from October 1974 to September 1981, with a pause in 1979, and reached 7,798 cars: 3,558 first-series and 817 second-series Spiders, 2,080 first-series and 1,123 second-series coupés, plus 1,805 Scorpions. The chassis later served for 11 Group 5 Montecarlo Turbos and, through the Abarth SE 030, for the Group B Lancia 037.
Design and features
- Mid-engine layout: the twin-cam engine sat behind the seats for balance and traction.
- Pininfarina build: the whole car was developed and assembled by the coachbuilder.
- Retractable roof Spider: a patented canvas roof between fixed pillars on the open version.
- Racing pedigree: the basis of the Group 5 Montecarlo Turbo and, indirectly, of the Lancia 037.
Lancia Montecarlo versions
- Beta Montecarlo coupé: 2,080 first-series cars.
- Beta Montecarlo Spider: 3,558 first-series open cars.
- Lancia Scorpion: American market Spider with a 1.8-litre engine, 1,805 built.
- Montecarlo second series: 1,123 coupés and 817 Spiders from 1980.
The Montecarlo was sold under the Beta name at first, and its chassis went into the Lancia 037 rally car. More cars are in the Lancia collection.
Sources
- Lancia Montecarlo, English Wikipedia: development, series, Scorpion, production
- Lancia Montecarlo, Italian Wikipedia: project history, versions, technical details
