The Lancia Beta Montecarlo was supposed to replace the aging Fiat 124 Coupe. However, Fiat decided to go with the cheaper alternative designed by Bertone. Thus the Pininfarina-designed Montecarlo joined the Lancia’s Beta family.
In 1975, the Lancia Beta Montecarlo was unveiled at the Geneva International Motor show. Its name could easily fool us, but the Beta Montecarlo had little in common with the Beta family. Despite its Lancia badge, the Montecarlo was more Pininfarina. The first car was developed entirely by the Italian coachbuilder.
The Lancia Beta Montecarlo had a mid-engine configuration and a rear-wheel-drive, unlike Betas' front wheels with a front-engine layout.
Paolo Martin from Pininfarina gave the Montecarlo a clean and modern shape, with a squared-off tail and nose, as well as a distinctive pair of wings at the sides of the back window to the lip of the side-hinged engine lid. The front fascia featured rectangular headlamps, and the nose of the car was wrapped in black plastic.
Initially, the Montecarlo was to be equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 powerplant. However, it ended up with a smaller 2.0-liter unit due to the oil crisis of the mid-1970s. The car’s performance wasn’t scintillating with the small unit, offering just 118 hp. Paired with a 5-speed manual transmission, the Montecarlo took around 9 seconds to reach 100 kph.
Thanks to the mid-engined layout, even if the car didn’t offer supercar-like performance, the Montecarlo had a balanced chassis and managed to provide superb handling.
Source: autoevolution.com
Images: Pininfarina
