Lancia Imperiale Design Concept

Disillusioned by how Fiat are treating his beloved Lancia, an independent designer has taken matters into his own hands. 

Lancia has been in somewhat of an identity funk of late, as the Fiat Group has made some strange decisions for the brand by dropping Chrysler models such as the 300 sedan and Town & Country minivan, as well as hatchbacks such as the Delta and Ypsilon, into the Italian firm's lineup.Once a proud sports car maker offering up gems such as the Lancia Flavia Coupe and the legendary Stratos, today it seems to be fighting to assert itself in the automotive industry, becoming diluted almost beyond recognition.

This is why independent designer David Cardoso, fed up with the current portfolio that includes the new Thema, came up with the Imperiale. "When Lancia recently brought out the Thema that is based on the American Chrysler 300C, I was let down by Lancia as it disowned its own Italian design language. The Imperiale is an attempt to create a worthy Thesis successor," he said.The fact that Chrysler used the Imperial moniker on a series of luxury models from the 1920s to 1990s is a tad ironic, but that aside the Imperiale seems to borrow previous Lancia models' fastback body styling, such as the seventies' Gamma Berllina.