1982 Lancia Zagato | Retro Review 

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My favorite part of the retro reviews is all the "engine compartment grabbing." At 2:40, this one didn't disappoint.

The perfect car for taking on a trip through Africa.

Blimy look at that nose jump up on acceleration! It does look good though.

I had the hardtop coupe version of this car ($2000 cheaper than the Zagato and I liked the styling over the Zagato too), and loved it, and put over 90,000 miles on it. These cars were rather cutting edge for their time. Most were brought into the US market at full spec, so A/C, leather, electric windows, tilt wheel, etc. They had electronic fuel injection when Detroit was still giving us carburetors or maybe a mechanical throttle body, power rack and pinion steering while others had recirculating ball, and true 4-wheel independent suspension and power disc brakes all around while others got disc/drum set ups at best from most other manufacturers. It was a breeze to work on as many of its parts were plated and didn't rust. It was really more comparable to a BMW 320 of the period. If there was a problem with them it was they didn't like to sit, they needed to be run regularly. Sadly early examples had severe rust issues from ill-spec'd Russian steel and they got a horrible reputation. I used it for many fast cross-country road trips, was never let down and it even returned darn good mileage too. I have to say it is the one car I miss the most.

You know this is an early episode when David himself is starring in the ‘usability’ footage

WOW... They drove it in the rain and it made it to the end of the test without it developing terminal rust!

40 years later and this Lancia Zagato still looks great.

Always liked these and let it be known that John was satiated as it had a full assortment of gauges! (that probably didn't give correct readings)

thank you for keeping these old videos alive!!

You can see the rust spots developing on the grille at 1:06

The test car had over 3,000 miles on it. That had to be considered high mileage for one of these.

Hey Ben - thanks so much for posting this! A white Lancia Zagato was my first car purchase back in the 1980's, and I got a real kick out of watching this review!

I’m happy the air cleaner was sturdy

I’ve had one of these for about five years. Kind of a pile, but it sure doesn’t blend in!

Wow, here is a real blast from the past.

I for one had no idea Lancias were even sold here in the us

In 1982 I wanted to buy a new a sports car and I considered the MG MGB, the Triumph Spitfire, the Triumph TR6, the FIAT X 1/9. However, it came down to two cars to choose from, the Lancia Zagato, and the FIAT 124 Spyder. I ultimately bought the FIAT 124 with a 5-speed manual for $12,642.82 (I still remember the exact amount I paid in March 1982. I chose the FIAT because of it’s more classical styling, that it was rear-wheel drive, and it was easier to store the soft top when opening it. It was a beautiful cherry red with a tan vynil interior and genuine wooden dashboard. It was quite a looker when brand new. Unfortunately, just like any other European sport car I constantly had mechanical problems with the car and I had to sell it two years later. I presently own a 2008 Mazda MX/5 Grand Touring PRHT in Black and Tan interior with a 6-speed manual - it’s light years ahead of the FIAT in reliability and performance; I’ve had it now for more than thirteen years and over 134,000 miles. However, the Mazda doesn’t have the Italian charm that my old FIAT had.

*When I was in high school back in 1983 a classmate actually owned one of these, it surprisingly was reliable and fun to drive, plus it had loads of character, also had some other nice cars in our parking lot at school, SAAB 900 Turbos, MB 400 SEL, Audi Quattros too.* I believe it was purchased from Westtown Imported Cars, West Chester PA on West Chester Pike...they sold FIAT, Lancia, and Pininfarina back until the early 1990s. The store is long gone now and on that land is a McLaren Dealership now...

Thank you Motorweek!

Something a bit different today. Lancias are still being sold in Europe, but haven't been here since 1982. The Zagato, like all other Lancias from this time period, was a MAGNIFICENT car to drive, but rusted away to nothing if you so much as showed it a picture of a rain cloud.

Thought the Lancia only came in two colors, brown and rust

Would make a TR7 seem well made and reliable.

I saw one of these lancia’s in my neighborhood couple days ago,it was my first time seeing a lancia in person in the United States

I had an 82' (I believe) my 88' senior year in Florida. Definitely a looker back in the day. Originally it was black with gold rims but the previous owner painted it red with black rims. Loved driving that car every weekend. I say the weekend because then on Monday it'd be in our garage being worked on after school. Still loved the car and would definitely pick up another just for the memories.

Every now and then, I see one of these here in the Pacific Northwest. But it’s never been an ‘82 model with that shield- like grille. Also, I have no idea what John was complaining about with the car’s round headlights. The contemporary SL, XJ-S, XJ, and every BMW had them, too. What an odd remark.

We had 6 Lancia Beta in Europe ( Beta, Trévi, coupé , HPE, Spider, Monte-carlo) but never with the Zagato nameplate .

I’ve never seen a Lancia on American roads. I was wondering if this car would make it through the test without breaking, which apparently it did. It’s like a slightly more sophisticated Fiat.

Oh yes. The Italian Stallion.

Crazy brakes!! Wow!

I owned one of these (actually the coupe version) for five years. Great handling and road holding even in snow. The downside was that everything that could break, did. Went through four mufflers. The instrument panel worked well, fortunately, which alerted me that the alternator regulator had broken when the voltmeter pegged to the top of the scale.

I loved these.

These were really pretty cars back in the day. I remember the ads for the all-black with gold trim in Car and Driver and Road andTrack. I liked the Lancia Scorpions, but always thought the front sat a little too high as did the Beta, but that Beta was a gorgeous body.

I always loved the look of these cars. If I recall correctly, the Zagato was a modified Beta Coupe.... the Beta was also a beautiful car

I was just talking with a friend of mine who recently saw a Lancia in the wild. I wondered if it was a private import or if it was actually sold here, and I was surprised that it was. And then RU-vid suggests this video!

What a nice little sports car. Would've done well next to a Delta if they imported that.

Interesting and rare car. I’m sure there are not many left in the US and parts availability is likely a big problem.

Very attractive and fun car

And to think Lancia was also racing (and dominating) in Group B when this car was being made. Those were the glory days of my favorite car company.

I had one of these in the early 80s when I lived in Manhattan Beach… Total chick magnet.

in the 70s lancia had a coupe look it uu, great looking car, if i remember right it was the beta coupe, it was a fiat.

Amazing

you'd see one at cars and coffee las vegas from 06-13... mine!

I could be wrong, but I don’t think 14 grand was cheap back when John Davis had that much hair. And neat looking as it was, service and repair costs must have been unpleasant.

The last time I saw a Lancia on the freeway was in the late eighties

My father had the hard top Beta coupé version in the late 70s. He got it shortly before I was born because he wanted a "practical" car. Got it good and cheap because by that stage the rust scare was in full swing in the UK, but then had to sell it on good and cheap in turn. Nice car compared to his British sports cars before, buzzy engine and quite nippy. Strangely enough he deemed it more reliable than the Volkswagen Scirocco that came afterwards.

Notice vehicles are not marketed for their low sticker price nor gas mileage anymore?

I suppose as these cars get rarer and parts nigh on impossible to attain, the case for electric conversions on pretty little numbers like this must be quite compelling

Pretty good car for 1982. I betcha repairs and parts would have been been a nightmare then and impossible if you owned on now.

I've been going to carshows and C&C's since 1989 and have NEVER seen one of these🤔

Nice looking, FWD and fab brakes. But that semi-convertible top seems silly.

Muito bom 👍👍

ha. wow. i have one in my garage - its a fine little car

The rustgato!

I have never seen a Lancia outside of Europe

❤ this 🚙

My family's Chevrolet Spark was 14 grand...

Хорошие времена.

My dad had one of these. It was def a looker and handled great but had zero power. We enjoyed it though. Wish Lancia was not dying a slow miserable death. Shame on Fiat!

It did need an overdrive 5 or 6 gear for US roads.

94 Galant please!

I actually saw one of these on the road in my area. Other than being a Lancia, it wasn't that good looking, and at 19.2 sec of 1/4 mile time, probably not too compelling to drive either.

No HP/Torque numbers? .____.

I could have bought one of these in 2002, but i was a high schooler so no PS- anyone notice the cone that fell down? lol

IDK, Zagato sounds more like an exotic candy bar as opposed to a sports car 🤔

Im getting 1st gen Prelude vibes

I've never seen this car in America before! If there is one with an automatic out there, I would definitely consider getting it!

I thought it was a BRAT in the thumbnail 😂

In Italia non fece fortuna. La carrozzeria arrugginiva da dentro. Io avevo lancia spider del 1976 2000cc. Ottima tenuta di strada. A volte la penso con nostalgia...

Bring the Delta to the US

I swear I thought he called it a lawn chair

Wait. What? John of Camray fame schools us on how to pronounce Lancia?

Wait, I thought low-end torque and acceleration was a trait of V8s, not little 4 bangers. I do wish they'd bring back the "passing time" as a performance metric. Don't see that anymore; 0-60 and 1/4 mile times don't tell the whole story.

John Davis has a different personality and voice…almost sleepy…in these early episodes

2:09 Stop taking Adderall and touching everything!

Mmmm iron oxide

We're these us sold?

The Zagato's round headlights look dated. The Honda e concept has round headlights which make it look futuristic.

Why does this look like an Italian version of the dodge rampage??

0-60 time?

With our lame modern “safety” standards something this cool wouldn’t be allowed to be made

This is not the Mitsubishi Cordia

$14k in 1982 = $39k today. I wish they would include that info in the retro reviews.

❤ LANCIA

Which is a better $14,000 buy: A Lancia 29 years ago, or a Mitsubishi Mirage now? I'd have to say the Mirage...

Rather have something usable and serviceable from Japan.

LOL.

it looks a lot like a 1979-81 celica sedan. and not in the good way.

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