Lancia Ypsilon revealed as brand's first electric car

The new Lancia Ypsilon has been revealed as the Italian brand's first electric car, complete with a bold, concept-inspired look, Stellantis’s new infotainment and an on-board table. 

The long-awaited small electric car has been launched in Ypsilon Limited Edition Cassina form, with just 1906 examples to be produced in tribute to the Italian brand's founding year. 

It will be fully introduced on 14 February at Lancia's headquarters in Milan, with customers able to express their interest in buying one through an online portal and joining the brand's One of 1906 campaign.

Said to "represent the maximum expression of design, comfort and well-being on board a Lancia", the new supermini takes its design cues from the Pura HPE concept shown last spring. 

A video of the hatchback shows a profile similar to the Peugeot e-208, brand new Y-shaped diamond-cut alloy wheels, daytime running lights identical to the Pura HPE concept's, LED headlights mounted underneath them and a Lancia badge mounted on the C-pillar.

At the rear, newly introduced rounded tail-lights are said to have been inspired by the 1970s Stratos rally car and sit next to Lancia's redesigned bumper-width logo, both of which protrude from the rear windscreen for extra presence.

Lancia has partnered with Italian furniture maker Cassina to make the initial edition of the Ypsilon; it was responsible for the design of the interior and exterior colours. 

It has ribbed velvet seats with a cannelloni motif, a small table protruding from the dashboard, a flat-bottomed steering wheel trimmed in leather and black plastic and Stellantis's new Sound Air Light Augmentation (Sala) infotainment system.

This uses fully customisable widgets that are depicted on two standard screens as standard, with the homepage serving as a centralised control panel allowing the driver to choose how they want to communicate with the car, whether it be by touching a button or by their voice.

Lancia hasn't officially revealed powertrain details for the Ypsilon, but it has announced that the EV will offer a range of 403km (250 miles). 

This means it will likely use the same 51kWh battery as the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric, resulting in a 0-62mph time of 8.2sec and a top speed of 93mph.

Prices for the Ypsilon also haven't yet been detailed, but we expect the limited-run model to be priced higher than the equivalent Peugeot and Vauxhall, which cost from £31k and £32k.