Pininfarina’s Design for the Lancia Gamma Coupé Was an Exercise in Restraint

In March 1976, Lancia brought two new cars to the Geneva Motor Show. One was the Gamma saloon, the brand’s new flagship. The other was a two-door coupé, a version proposed by Pininfarina and drawn by Aldo Brovarone, the designer behind the Dino Berlinetta Speciale and the Peugeot 504. The coupé made an immediate impression, but buyers had to wait more than a year before it reached the showrooms.

At the time, Italian performance cars were moving toward sharp wedge shapes, and Lancia had one of its own in the Bertone-designed Stratos. The Gamma Coupé took a different route. With its long, low bonnet and short, formal boot, it relied on proportion and careful detailing to get its message across. Fifty years later, the shape has lost none of its appeal.