LANCIA Prisma Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Lancia introduced in December 1982 Prisma as the sedan version for the already known Delta hatchback, and it was a significant success for the Italian brand.

At the beginning of the '80s, Lancia was a respected name in the motorsports arena, especially in the World Rally Championship. The Italian carmaker tried to convert that brand awareness into sales, and it needed a new sedan to replace the Fulvia.

After a successful introduction of the Delta in 1979, Lancia asked Giorgetto Giugiaro to make a sedan version. The result came fast, and the first Prisma went on the market at the beginning of 1982. It featured the same wedged shape as the Delta, but with rectangular headlights instead of round ones. It shared the same split-grille at the front with its hatchback sibling and most of the body panels up to the C-pillars. Giugiaro managed to create a trunk in the back of the car that didn't look like someone added it at the last moment.

Inside, the Prisma provided good room for the front passengers and adequate for the rear ones. Like its Delta sibling, it featured a very crowded instrument cluster with two many gauges and warning lights. Lancia's designers understood that those gauges were challenging to read and, after the 1986 facelift, they re-arranged them but didn't delete any of them.

The Prisma shared the same platform with the Delta, and it was one of the best on the market. It featured an excellent wheelbase-track ratio that encouraged spirited driving, even though it didn't provide independent suspension in the rear. Lancia offered the Delta with a front- or all-wheel-drive.