Lancia Thema 8.32
In the late 80s, the Lancia Thema 8.32 was presented: it mounts a Ferrari 308 8-cylinder with 32 valves. The car was finished with a luxurious interior with Frau leather, dashboard covered in wood, as well as the profiles of the doors. The line was essentially those of the Thema, so the front end lived the same variations between the first and second series, grille, headlights, the same for the rear. However, the electrically extendable rear wing was able to turn heads, more for show than necessity, but it was pretty nice. The identification badges signaled that this was the “angry” model of the entire range and actually, the roar of the 8 cylinders, albeit slightly weakened, was really nice. Performances were good, with a decent speed and after all, the 8.32 had a quite good grip. Too bad for the front-wheel drive … but you can’t have everything. Comfortable riding position thanks to a pair of seats with electric adjustment that gave the opportunity to find the right position, and even rear passengers would have traveled comfortably. Colors available were only a few, but there was no need to look for more. Both the gunmetal metallic and the metallic red have hit the spot. A car that you can find with very affordable prices and that can still give a lot of satisfaction, but it is risky as a Russian roulette, unless you find one with a warranty, and this seems very difficult. All mechanism are fragile, you know, distribution and maintenance must be performed every now and then, because of Lancia components and therefore happens that the wing comes up once and ten times stays in the trunk, that the power windows do not work, that the coating on the dashboard torn itself and that those beautiful seams begin to take not so straight lines. There is another aspect that can give boredom while making small and big works, if you need a mechanical replacement (for example seals heads) you have to purchase a kit where there are also those of the base and some others too (personal experience). The rear bumper costs much more than the standard of the Thema and they say that the reason is the limited production due to the pair of different mufflers, etc. This does not mean it’s a bad car, but only look for a good model, without putting your hands in the engine compartment. Best thing for enjoying it, is to make sure you have a good one with periodic checks and every work already done and serviced. Then there is one aspect that other “cocktails cars” like the VW Porsche 914 suffers: if anything breaks, although clearly Lancia, the Ferrari name will weighs on your wallet, but when you want to sell the whole car, only the Lancia name comes into play.
Roberto Marrone
Lancia Thema 8.32 (1987)
Layout – front-engined, front wheel drive
Engine – V8 cylinder 2.9cc
Transmission – 5-speed manual gearbox
Power – 212 hp / 285 Nm
Weight – 1400 kg
Acceleration – 6,8 sec.
Top Speed – 240 kph
Price – from 9.000 €