Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today
A performance iteration of the Thema, this is a car that was Lancia’s answer to the BMW M5.
Lancia. It is a name that makes everyone who loves cars excited. Lancia are sadly a shadow of their former self in 2022, but it wasn’t always like this. The iconic Italian car company used to produce some extraordinary cars. We had the Stratos, that stunned its rivals in the World Rally Championship. There was the Montecarlo, yes it had problems early on but it evolved into a great machine. And the 037, the only two-wheel drive car to beat the mighty Audi Quattro, and giving us perhaps the greatest rallying story of all time in the 1983 season.
Some cars though that Lancia made slipped through the net though, for whatever reason. The Aprilia is one example, a car that was the first ever designed in a wind tunnel. Other cars like the Flaminia and Aurelia GT were great but never spoken about. Then there was the Theme 8.32. An iteration of the Thema, this is a car that was Lancia’s answer to the BMW M5. And it was a truly glorious car, and one that is now incredibly hard to find. But it's also one that was criminally underrated.
The 8.32 was an iteration of the first-generation of the Thema, that Lancia first brought out in 1984 and made until 1994. The Thema itself was a luxury car based upon Lancia’s all-new Type Four platform, and it was co-designed with the Fiat Croma, Saab 9000 and the Alfa Romeo 164. It was available as both a saloon and a station wagon, but is most remembered for the former iteration. A variety of engines would power the Thema ranging from a 2.0-liter Fiat 834B inline-four to a 3.0-liter Alfa Romeo V6.
The 8.32 though would take the Thema to the next level. The 8.32. was first unveiled at the 1985 Turin Auto Show, and the name stood for the number of cylinders, eight, and the number of valves, 32. Powering the 8.32 was of course a V8. A Tipo F105L Ferrari V8 to be precise, based on the engine used in the Ferrari 308 and the Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole. Some of the internal components were even assembled by Ducati. This engine gave the 8.32. a top speed of 149 mph in its non-catalysed form, in catalysed form it was capable of 146 mph.
RELATED: This Is Why Lancia Was So Good, And Why They Disappeared Off The Face Of The Earth
There were plenty of standout features with the 8.32. First of all, there was the way it looked. The Thema itself was a great looking car but somehow, the 8.32 had a little extra something about it. There was also the retractable rear spoiler, that gracefully added a bit more sporty appeal to the car. It fit flush with the trunk lid when it was folded away, and when deployed it helped increase the high speed stability of the car. The 8.32 was a true driver's car, with a five-speed manual transmission the only available choice for the car.
Bosh KE3 Jetronic fuel injection was a standout feature of the engine. The 8.32 also had ZF’s brand new Servotronic electrically controlled rack-and-pinion steering. ABS was another feature, and all of these features came on every 8.32 available to purchase. Going back to the engine, it had a cross-plane type crankshaft, with smaller valves and a different firing order to ensure it was the right engine for a four-door luxury saloon. Lancia and Ferrari went to a lot of effort to make sure that this was the right engine for the 8.32.
Inside there was either a handmade wood and Alcántara, or an optional Poltrona Frau leather interior. It also came complete with plenty of luxury equipment, and the dashboard was gloriously veneered in matte varnish burr wood. Everything about the 8.32 was brilliant. You had plenty of options to such as automatic climate control and an electrically actuated sunroof. Performance wise, the 8.32 was brilliant. The Ferrari engine made a great noise and provided plenty of power, and it was perhaps every bit as good as the BMW M5 of the time. But no one seems to remember the 8.32.
RELATED: The Iconic Lancia Delta Rally Car Has Risen As An Awesome Restomod
As Top Gear highlighted several years ago in their brilliant Lancia tribute, in 1980 Lancia had to buy back rusting Betas and give the owners brand-new cars for its British customers. Lancia’s reputation was sadly ruined in the United Kingdom, and in 1994, they pulled out of the right-hand drive market for good. The year that the first generation of the Thema left production. Lancia never recovered from this, and it effectively sealed the fate of the brand, becoming simply another name now under the Stellantis umbrella. But as we saw with the 8.32, they could make a truly fantastic car. If you want to know just how good the Thema 8.32 was, Mr Enzo Ferrari himself had one for many years as his personal car. That, is an incredible legacy to have.
Sources: Top Gear, Retro Motor, Lancia
Covering anything from JDM cars to classic jets. Contributed to HotCars since the Autumn of 2018. Writes features, news and list articles.