RE: Lancia Thema 8.32: Spotted

[Vee12V]

s m said:

BFleming said:

...the 8.32 went like the clappers,

I don't think GT86 performance gets too many excited on here nowadays!

I bet the Thema would feel a lot faster than the 86 does because of its lousy, lousy engine.

[deltashad]

Always felt this was Ferraris entry to the four door world after canning the Pinin. Very special car but you could easily tune the 16v turbo to leave the 8.32 in its wake. Superbly courageous buy from new and a piece of motoring history. At the price of a non evo integrale what can possibly go wrong...

[Turbobanana]

s m said:

I don't think GT86 performance gets too many excited on here nowadays!

Ah yes, the usual PH comment (although at least there is acknowledgement that it was fast in its day.

I know this is PistonHeads ("Speed matters"), but it's not all about performance. I for one would far rather smoke around in this than any modern hot hatch. I realise that to do so would be financially ruinous, as well as slower, but for me there's the intangible element of character. Ever driven a 2CV? Criminally slow, dynamically inept but bloody good fun.

I suspect this will sell for the £asking, or close to, as it appears to be the best around and as someone else has suggested - you either want one, or you don't.

[Dale487]

deltashad said:

Always felt this was Ferraris entry to the four door world after canning the Pinin. Very special car but you could easily tune the 16v turbo to leave the 8.32 in its wake. Superbly courageous buy from new and a piece of motoring history. At the price of a non evo integrale what can possibly go wrong...

The 8.32 is the cheapest why to buy a Ferrari engine & when it does go wrong, you can always make a Clarkson 928 style sofa, chairs & V8 coffee table set.

[chris4652009]

"one of only eight in the country" ???
I've seen one of these recently, can't for the life of me recall where though

[Mogsmex]

Esceptico said:

If you ever needed an example of how irrational car-lovers can be then this is it. Expensive, unreliable, slow and not even special (except perhaps for the engine).

Does look nice though.

ding


Lovely old thing and achingly cool looks minty underneath in the ad, obviously been very very well cared for (probably stil a world of pain awaiting the next owner though )

[Maxym]

There are eight in the country but it's unique. Hmmm.

[Chris944_S2]

I think only the Swiss bought these cars, I’ve just had alook on autoscout24.ch and there’s currently 8 up for sale today, the same as the entire production for the UK
https://m.autoscout24.ch/de/autos/alle-marken?make...

[andrewcliffe]

I know of 3 8:32's currently off road. One could be put back on the road fairly easily, the other two are more involved projects.

[MX6]

Certainly an interesting '80's curiosity, pretty cool. Nice that there's still some that exist but I see it as just a museum/collection/investment piece though really given the rarity and price, you don't buy this to drive the wheels off.

[stevie777777]

Lovely car...I remember back in the day working near Regents park seeing a chap getting into one of these which he had new (F Reg I recall). Back then I think it was the most powerful production FWD car in the world so would imagine the Torque steer would be amusing :-)

[s m]

Turbobanana said:

s m said:

I don't think GT86 performance gets too many excited on here nowadays!

Ah yes, the usual PH comment (although at least there is acknowledgement that it was fast in its day.

I know this is PistonHeads ("Speed matters"), but it's not all about performance. I for one would far rather smoke around in this than any modern hot hatch. I realise that to do so would be financially ruinous, as well as slower, but for me there's the intangible element of character. Ever driven a 2CV? Criminally slow, dynamically inept but bloody good fun.

I suspect this will sell for the £asking, or close to, as it appears to be the best around and as someone else has suggested - you either want one, or you don't.

Exactly right - I remember saying the Alfa SZ was quick when new ( even a smidge quicker with its tuneful V6 than this V8 Lancia according to road tests ) and being told by many the SZ was slow ....even in 1990.

People often tend to disregard stuff that can't smoke a new 320d!

[M666 EVO]

My friend had one of these about 20 odd years ago. It makes a lovely sound and goes very well. All in all a lovely rare car.

He also had an Evo2 and Integrale. I bought my Delta HPE from him so I am (as was he) a certified Lancia fan.

I saw this car advertised a few weeks back and initially thought its in great condition but a little too expensive. The 832 was circa 8k a couple of years back and they haven't become rarer in that time. There are about 8 registered with the Lancia club so more will exist but they're just not registered, or on the road for that matter.

I would say the 14k offered on eBay is correct. Its a great car but looks like the seller might be trying recoup some of the losses from the other 832 to he had!

[Genuine Barn Find]

There's one of these parked 100 yards away from me as I type. Parked up at the business where we send our cars for MOT's. Has 'issues' apparently. Lovely old girl as well - metallic red.

[PHMatt]

You have to really want a Lancia to want this.

It's considerably outgunned by many things, is ugly, likely a frightening money pit, front wheel drive, expensive to buy, expensive to fix, probably insane to insure.

Even a Carlton GSI of the era has more power. Appreciate it's double the money now, but a Lotus Carlton was available at the same time for not a lot more money. A 377bhp 170mph Lotus Carlton for £5k more than a FWD rust prone moderately powered taxi.

[Genuine Barn Find]

PHMatt said:

You have to really want a Lancia to want this.

It's considerably outgunned by many things, is ugly, likely a frightening money pit, front wheel drive, expensive to buy, expensive to fix, probably insane to insure.

Even a Carlton GSI of the era has more power. Appreciate it's double the money now, but a Lotus Carlton was available at the same time for not a lot more money. A 377bhp 170mph Lotus Carlton for £5k more than a FWD rust prone moderately powered taxi.

What colour is yours'?

[brucky74]

My old head teacher had one in the 90's. I didn't realise how special and rare it was until he started it up. Minter for sale in Dublin at the moment http://deanemotors.ie/vehicle/lancia-thema-832/

[Turbobanana]

PHMatt said:

You have to really want a Lancia to want this.

It's considerably outgunned by many things, is ugly, likely a frightening money pit, front wheel drive, expensive to buy, expensive to fix, probably insane to insure.

Even a Carlton GSI of the era has more power. Appreciate it's double the money now, but a Lotus Carlton was available at the same time for not a lot more money. A 377bhp 170mph Lotus Carlton for £5k more than a FWD rust prone moderately powered taxi.

I don't know what car you drive (probably a Carlton ) and, yes - you do have to want one to buy this. But don't overlook the desirability of certain enthusiast cars.

Example: do you know what a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller is? I alluded to a 2CV in an earlier post - well this is slower. It's also smaller, older, has only 2 seats and is steered by handlebars. But demand is high - and look at the values! https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/81/

And "ugly" is in the eye of the beholder: I personally think the Thema is one of the more handsome cars from the era. Interestingly, of the 4 marques available on the same platform, I still see several Saab 9000s (I even owned one) and 164s, a few Themas but never a Croma.

[s m]

PHMatt said:

You have to really want a Lancia to want this.

It's considerably outgunned by many things, is ugly, likely a frightening money pit, front wheel drive, expensive to buy, expensive to fix, probably insane to insure.

Even a Carlton GSI of the era has more power. Appreciate it's double the money now, but a Lotus Carlton was available at the same time for not a lot more money. A 377bhp 170mph Lotus Carlton for £5k more than a FWD rust prone moderately powered taxi.

Actually it doesn't

A Carlton GSi has less power, 12v or 24v,

[aaron_2000]

There's more on the road in the UK now than there ever has been

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/lancia_thema...