Lancia announced last May that it would be returning to rallying with its new Ypsilon hatchback, revealing the first images and details of the rally version alongside a road-going HF performance trim that looked pretty awesome. Now, a year later, the Ypsilon HF is ready to reach customer hands, and so is both the Ypsilon Rally4 HF and a new Ypsilon HF Racing model that’s aimed at drivers who are just starting their careers.
The Ypsilon HF road car (pictured below) is fully electric, with 280 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque sent to the front wheels through a Torsen diff, a 5.6-second 0-to-62-mph time, bigger brakes and upgraded suspension, and a 230-mile range on the European cycle. It has a rad bodykit, awesome fabric seats, sick flying star–like wheels, a blue and orange interior color scheme, and paint colors inspired by the Fulvia and Stratos. It looks awesome, I think.
Lancia
But oh my god, the rally versions. For both road and rally Ypsilons, Lancia brought back its old HF logo that features a prancing red elephant, but while the production Ypsilon HF only uses it on a few small badges, Lancia showed off the Ypsilon HF Racing with an elephant livery that might be the cutest racing livery of all time.
Return of the elephant
Now, some history on the elephant, which sadly doesn’t have a name. The company says it was chosen as the brand’s mascot in 1953 by Gianni, son of CEO Vincenzo Lancia, and that in Eastern mythology elephants are “a symbol of good luck and victory, as long as it is represented with the trunk extended forward.” Here’s what else Lancia has to say about the elephant logo and its new interpretation:
The HF Logo debuted at the 1960 Geneva Motor Show, when a group of passionate Lancia car owners founded the “Lancia Hi-Fi” (‘High Fidelity’) club, an exclusive meeting point for the brand’s most loyal customers and especially for people who had purchased at least six new Lancia cars.
The HF logo then became a hallmark of the HF Squadra Corse Lancia, founded in 1963 by Cesare Fiorio together with drivers and passionate owners of Lancia cars, and was used as the ‘signature’ for many of the brand’s victories. The historic logo was made up of uppercase white “HF” letters on a black background, with four red elephants running across them, and “SQUADRA CORSE” written in white uppercase letters on a red background below. The little elephant was chosen as a lucky charm based on the legend that, once they start running, elephants become unstoppable, making them symbols of performance and driving pleasure. The new HF logo reinterprets its historical counterpart with a contemporary flair: its core elements have been simplified in both line and form, creating a new balance that conveys innovation, premiumness, and the Italian spirit, with a touch of eclecticism, all while respecting the unmistakable geometries of the Lancia brand. In particular, the colors come from the official logo of the 1966 Fulvia Coupé, while the slant of the letters is inspired by the Lancia Delta logo from the 1990s to express speed and radicality.
Along the side of the Ypsilon there are multiple elephant outlines painted red, black and gray, all sharing one eye and positioned and overlapping each other in a way that gives the appearance of motion. That effect especially apparent when looking at photos of the car actually in motion. There are other graphic stripes in the same colors along the sides and front, and the tailgate and hood have large HF logos. It’s adorable.
Two different rally models
Last year Lancia revealed the Ypsilon Rally4 HF in a classic Martini livery, and there are some notable styling differences between it and the lower-spec Ypsilon HF Racing. The Rally4 HF car has the same bodykit and wider fenders as the HF road car, plus a roof scoop and additional hood vents, while the HF Racing model uses the same styling as the standard Ypsilon. It does have some excellent steelie wheels, though.
Unlike the electric road car, the Rally4 HF has a turbocharged 1.2-liter inline-3 engine with 212 hp mated to a five-speed racing gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip diff. Other enhancements include larger ventilated brakes, MacPherson suspension with Ohlins adjustable dampers, Sparco racing seats, a roll cage, Marelli engine software, and Speedline wheels.
Then there’s the HF Racing, which Lancia says is “a project designed to make the racing world accessible to a new generation of drivers that doesn’t compromise performance, safety, and construction quality, while maintaining exceptionally low operating costs.” Its turbocharged three-cylinder only has 145 hp, but you do get a 6-speed manual transmission and a mechanical handbrake, brakes that are bigger but not quite as big as the Rally4’s, and the same chassis setup and interior as the Rally4 car.
More than 100 tires used over its development
Lancia hasn’t said how much the Ypsilon Rally4 HF will cost, but the HF Racing model is quite accessible, starting at the equivalent of around $46,000 before VAT. Talking further about the customers its going for, Lancia says:
The entire development process was aimed at creating an agile, high-performance vehicle packed with technical features, but with extremely low operating costs. The Ypsilon HF Racing was established to support the training and refinement of rally driving techniques, serving as a solid starting point for drivers at the beginning of their careers. Created in collaboration with expert rally drivers and subject to rigorous dynamic testing, the vehicle embodies the brand’s core values: dynamism, accessibility, and driving pleasure. With a “race-ready” setup, it is aimed at a large and diverse market to help create an inclusive and progressive motorsports culture.
It’s already available to order through the Stellantis Motorsport Racing Shop, and first deliveries will occur this summer. The Ypsilon HF road car has yet to be priced either, with it going on sale after summer. All of the models were developed at Lancia’s new Balocco Proving Ground, with the Ypsilon HF driving over 100,000 kilometers over more than 1,500 hours on the asphalt track, using at least 100 tires.
Lancia
Lancia
