RE: Lancia Beta Monte-Carlo: Spotted
Discussion
Back in the late 70s I really fancied one of these, but by the time they might have been in budget I'd already had 2 Fiats so knew how much pain they could inflict on the bank account. So I bought Fast Fords instead!
Quite an innovative car at the time though - nobody tried anything similar until the mid-80s when the MR2 came along!
And MR2 prices do make this look a bit pricey.
Quite an innovative car at the time though - nobody tried anything similar until the mid-80s when the MR2 came along!
And MR2 prices do make this look a bit pricey.
The montecarlo was of course originally developed as the Fiat X1/20 and was passed onto lancia very late in its development, this resulted in the early cars being released to the public insufficiently developed, my choice would therefore be to find a series two which had most of the quirks of the early cars designed out by lancia engineers. Whilst it's a great looking thing in my opinion the Beta coupe is the better car, much more solidly made and a great handling car despite being front wheel drive plus a nice one will be half price as they are still tainted by the overblown rust scandal. These days it's difficult to remember that everything back then rusted, if a Beta had survived this far there's no reason to dismiss it for being a rot box!
samoht said:
davidn said:
Mention has been made of the long front over hang but it effectively turned a 2 seater into a 3 seater
Not just a junior Ferrari, but a veritable cut-price McLaren F1 then !Edited by samoht on Saturday 3rd March 16:38
That bargain F1 label must belong to the Bagheera/Murena surely !
myhandle said:
This is to the Lancia Rally (homologation version of the 037) as the original Delta is to the integrale; surely worth the asking price to the right collector.
I remember these years back on the roadsI'd still want a proper Stradale though, like Lagerlout has done with his 131 Rallye.
I remember Fast Lane reviewing one in the 80s as a pricey road car
Bet they're astronomical prices now
https://youtu.be/cwwHULWCmkI
Richard A said:
Is this the only production model that had windows entirely outside the cabin / habitable space? I'm sure there must have been others but I can't think of any.
A few Ferrari's do (glass over the engine + a rear window divider). There are probably a few mid engine cars with non cabin glass.
Leins said:
^^^ Superb
Any idea what the supercharged Mercedes that they mention is sm?
500 SECAny idea what the supercharged Mercedes that they mention is sm?
Back to the Montecarlo, someone used to run one as a daily up until a decade or so ago.
Always parked outside The Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury ( which is on a steep hill )
Used to marvel at their faith in Italian handbrake tech as it wasn't left in gear as well
Edited by s m on Sunday 4th March 11:50
DELTAHPE said:
These days it's difficult to remember that everything back then rusted, if a Beta had survived this far there's no reason to dismiss it for being a rot box!
IIRC Vauxhall also had a spectacularly bad reputation for rust a few years before (much to their relief!) the Beta showed up. As an aside a Beta Volumex Coupe is another 'I missed the chance' car 
For me, a clean Alfasud Ti for £8k is a far better proposition:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1982-ALFA-ROMEO-ALFASUD...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1982-ALFA-ROMEO-ALFASUD...
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