I used to own that very car, back in the late 80s my late father and myself brought it back from a state of near death to a reasonable state. It was a wonderful car and I owned it for many years, such a smooth and deceptively fast car a true marvel. Regarding the clear indicators they were Italian market only, I fitted them as they look so much the part but UK cars normally had amber ones. The build quality in these is good but not as impressive as the pre-Fiat takeover versions, the earlier Flavias are an absolute marvel. The interior on the 2000HF is largely similar to Pininfarina built Ferraris of the same era. I sometimes wonder why I ever sold it but then again I'd had it too long and didn't feel like making the effort to rectify the ageing process that had set back in at the time. I still have a Beta volumex coupé in the garage, but in bits and I never seem to have any time to attend to it, one day maybe.....Beta is a totally different character but still designed by Lancia engineers and full of clever details, rather more sporty and a bit more obvious than a Flavia/2000.
Hello! Thanks so much for posting this - I did think of mentioning you but there wasn't an obvious point in the story to do so, and then I couldn't find the comment you made on a previous video. That's interesting about the clear indicators, I didn't know that - I wonder if they would have been illegal in the UK at the time? And I can certainly relate to your experience with the Beta VX, my Gamma is a similar story. One day, hopefully soon.
Here in Italy they were always considered a bit of a 'curio' and sadly never sold in large numbers. They were in actual fact a really rather splendid motorcar. I remember the beautiful thick, high quality velour on those chunky seats and the lovingly appointed interior. Thumbs up for yet another wonderful video 👍👍❤️ regards from Florence, Danny
That car was a masterpiece, the best 2000 coupè on market at his time. But also expensive to buy and maintain in perfect working order (and with the right people who know about it). When it's ok it's reliable, nice to drive, safe and fast on any route. 126hp din (and 130 on lasts produced with some modify by Bosch) were so much for a 2,000cc, I remember that 2000HF of our family on the 70s highway even reaching 210 km/h... and humiliating the many alfettas of the 70s roads in Italy :D It should be remembered that in 1972 in the Italian price list a Lancia 2000HF cost 3,470k itl. lire and for example a competitor such as an Alfa Gtv2.0 cost only 2,600k itl lire and a Bmw 2002ti 2,300k.. (-40%!). So you can understand why few were sold...
I am in mid restoration of my 1973 2000HF coupe, I have owned this car for 40 years and hope to have it back on the road late summer this year, I agree this model is a great car that is very under rated. Keep up your good work, I'm sure the Lancia owners club would be please to host/support your channel. Cheers Bob (LMC Member)
Tremendous video and impeccable research. At their peak, there was little or nothing to touch Lancia engineering and design inside and out. Respect to anyone who put their hard earned into a new Lancia from any era.
I can remember in my twenties when I was young and had more cash than brains I owned a Beta it looked good drove very well But it had a problem .Rust. the British cars were not good but compared to a Lanca were in a different league . Obviously I got rid of it soon as I found out. Can't remember who I passed it onto . Better losing a few hundred than a few thousand I thought.
This really makes me want a 2000. Even though I’m only 32 years old I always find myself gravitating towards older vehicles which totally explains the two I drive. Great video! Keep ‘em coming!
@@gerardclarke8096 Would love to but I unfortunately have no rooms for any more vehicles as I own 3 Currently one of which Is a 99 civic hatchback that I daily. When I buy more property in the future I plan on getting several more vehicles.
Your review reminds me my youth in the back seats of this marvellous Lancia. I still have its smell in my mind. Thanks for that. Audacious car for 1969, a 123hp flat four OHC banger, fuel injected, 5 speed gearbox, FWD, 4 disc brakes, very luxurious, incredibily reliable and a good gas mileage (9l per 100km).
I had two of the carburettor 2000 Coupes back in the 1980s. The high cost when new in the early '70s meant that they were always a rarity, and although some were registered as late as 1976 they would probably have been built in 1973. I found them to be better to drive than the Fulvia coupe that I also owned, and mechanically they were reliable and well engineered. However, like most cars of the era, bodywork corrosion was always an issue and these elegant, hand-built PininFarina coupes were no exception. In many ways it was still ahead of most cars of the day despite being an older design, with disc brakes front and rear (like all Flavias and Fulvias), Cromodora alloys wheels and halogen headlights as standard. The coupe had some nice details, like the boot release hidden in the door opening, relays for the headlight switches, and a cigarette lighter fitted with a bell.
Thank you for pronouncing Lancia properly. So many memories from my dad's car (he wanted an HF, but was 'persuaded' to get one of the last Fulvia 1.6 GTE in 1970... rather than waiting for a year!)
Indeed, well said. However, I did chuckle at the possible Freudian slip when the pretty girl was on screen and you seem to say that Lancia had no choice but to drop the smaller engined 'virgins' 😂
Lancia has been very successful in motorsport over the years, and mostly in the arena of rallying. Prior to the forming of the World Rally Championship (WRC), Lancia took the final International Championship for Manufacturers title with the Fulvia in 1972. In the WRC, they remain the most statistically successful marque (despite having withdrawn at the end of the 1993 season), winning constructors' titles with the Stratos (1974, 1975 and 1976), the 037 (1983) and the Delta (six consecutive wins from 1987 to 1992). The Delta is also the most successful individual model designation ever to compete in rallying. All this gave Lancia a total of 11 Championships over the years and 15 European Championship from 1969 to 1992.
Great video Martin.. I’ve see these but didn’t know much about them but love some of the detailing. Sounds like an epic grand tourer. Fascinating to learn how a customer loyalty club evolved into championship winning rally team.. I love that sort of back story.
Man I didn't know lancia had that story before, I'm still a year behind on my 2nd gen delta project (inline 5 swap), just slowly piecing together the ecu. hopefully will fire up this year
Took one behind the Iron Curtain while researching a book on Tatra. The journey was worth a book on its own. Mine had a blueprinted engine and one of the high points of the trip was seeing of a convoy of 3 Porsche 911's in heavy rain on the autobahn north of Munich. The 2000HF is one of greatest car's ever made.
First time I've ever heard of that model...When I lived in Australia, they were getting all the Beta variants; never heard of the 2000. I have more appreciation for the 1970s Euro-style cars; much more greenhouse/great visibility, compared w/ modern stuff (or even the 1970s Japanese models). Great review; looks like a splendid example you got to drive!
Yes, even back in the 70s, Japanese cars were starting to 'over-style' (not a term) their cars, at the expense of visibility, and sound design. I'm thinking in particular, about the Datsun 180B - but various Mitsubishi Galant and Sigma, Toyota Corona, Cressida, Crown, Celica, etc, were all major offenders too. The Datsun's rising waistline/window-line meant pokey rear windows, and rear 'screen. Ornamentation up to the eyeballs - around the nose, the tail, the dashboard, centre console, hubcaps, door linings - *everywhere* that some excess and entirely functionless plastic appellation could be squeezed, Nissan/Datsun's 'design' boffins added it. 😵 Motoring writers back in the day, sometimes referred to the trend of feature lines, frames, chrome and other 'bright-work', as _gargoyles_ . Meant to convey an impression of distinctiveness, or greater importance - but in reality, fake and ugly clutter. This Lancia 2000 is simply lovely by comparison! 😌
Just discovered you channel, YT suggested this on the front page, already subscribed, great content, props to the script and production values, also loved the short-10min around running times. Keep up the awesome work!
Firstly, I'm always attracted to Lanvia's overall styling of their cars. Secondly, I subscribed to your channel simply because your title is brilliant!
Go for it! Incidentally, are you MOG 7 as in the reg number of the glorious 1966 motorhome that’s currently on FB Marketplace? facebook.com/marketplace/item/249393220889032/
fabulous car. Always had one parked near me when I was in University. Always took a detour to watch it. My first own Lancia was to be a Gamma Coupe (two actually)
Indeed, another brilliant video. Thank you so much. I think you found your stile and format. Forget replacing door locks and fiddling around with English Wheel and stuff. I'm honestly a little jealous. But only a very little bit. And thanks for the tip regarding the book on the Gamma. That was new to me, ordered it right away. I am really looking forward to the 1 hour Gamma episodes and the following seasons 1, 2 and 3. Beste Grüße, Christian
Moin! Thanks Christian - this format does seem to work well, although I still have a very long list of jobs to do on my cars and will still probably make videos about it. Not sure any of us have got the patience for a 1 hour episode though :D
A friend of mine owns a Flavia Coupe which we used for the Carrera Caledonia rally some years ago. It’s absolutely beautiful. I owned a Gamma Coupe in navy blue and always wondered how the two cars related. I was vaguely aware of the 2000 but until this video, it had never occurred to me how this links the two together so seamlessly.
Fantastic to see a review of this car, with some lovely details - I have been restoring one since 2001. Children and other projects have got in the way, but the bodywork is all done and I expect to complete it in a couple of years. I owned my first one in the late 90's and it's a really special car from one of the 5 greatest manufacturers of all time! It can easily handle modern traffic and motorway miles and is a genuinely useable car. The biggest problem is parts - fortunately (or unfortunately) I wrote off my first one but kept the salvage and broke it for parts. I then broke a second rusty one, so I have an extensive stash - parts like bumpers are particularly tricky. The car I'm restoring wasn't all that bad to start with - rust is no worse than the average for the era. I believe they were around the £3250 mark in 1973, which was incredibly expensive. I think around 120 were sold in the UK out of a total production of around 1200. Thanks for giving it some exposure!
That sounds like a very worthy project! Your timescale is even longer than any of mine, but it sounds like you’re pressing on towards finishing, which is excellent. All power to you, it’ll be lovely when you’ve finished! (Insofar as these things are ever ‘finished’, that is.)
Nice that some youtuber gets the part of the HF story on the marketing / customer care side. All of Lancia's efforts on this side at the time seemed to me to have vanished completely from people's minds. Dad owned the Hi-Fi badge on his Fulvia GTE's front grille, with 2 Blue stars and a White star, and I was rewarded with a wonderful scale model of the Fulvia Coupé at the party when the badge was proudly given. That GTE was the last of a long string of Lancia cars in our family, and several years on it became my own car for some time, after I took my licence, until somebody managed to get off road at pace and destroy it while it was parked on a grass field quite far from the road. Nobody was seriously hurt, apart from my fabulous Fulvia - and, well, the offender's Fiat 128...
Background on HiFi was very interesting. Some new things for me. A little disingenuous to illustrate the HiFi rally days with images of 037 in Martini livery though, as Abarth was running the show by then.
Currently have father's '73 2000 berlina which really does feel like a mobile '70's living room with it's vertical window frames, big soft tan velour seats striped to look like corduroy, dark green carpets and even factory pastel green curtains for the rear windscreen! But it's also not hard to see how Lancia labour intensive building them was with hand sewn upholstery upon the grab-handles, bound carpet edging, laminated heating for the rear windscreen , hand welded suspension arms and large alloy castings. Berlina suits the conservatively stable & refined drivetrain layout where coupe remains more Grand Touring than agile sports car despite its understated abilities.
Kudos to the references to Peter Gabriel 1. It's my dream Lancia, I test drove three but it never came to anything, unfortunately. Just a little bit outside of my budget. Lovely handling motor car.
Hello, i am an Italian 70 th Alfa's owner and lover, but I love the Lancia 's at the same time... Aurelia, Flaminia, Flavia, Fulvia' s...a friend if my father had a 2000 coupe when I was 12' and I remember the interior, the elegance.... A wonderful car!!!
Exellent video on a truly beautiful car built by brand which stood for quality engineering and build quality no matter what it cost quality came first i also love your taste in cars as i to own a hf2000 which i am restoring and a gamma coupe which i have restored please keep up the good work
I love the 2000, & I don't recall ever seeing one in the wild, despite being "old enough".. There was a 3some you`d have loved near me (in north London) till recently, a very solid navy Gamma Coupe, a solid but mouldy white Dedra Turbo, & a very tired 130 Couple in silver. No one ever answered the door, he never replied to notes I left, & his neighbours knew nothing about him. Sadly, they all vanished during lockdown & the run down house made over, I assume after a sale, & because there was no plates or tax discs on any of them, I cant check to see if they`ve survived or not. Quite frustrating, & very sad if they were unceremoniously scrapped..
One of my favourite albums of my early teens. I still love it. And... I had always wondered what the car was. One of the great questions of my young life is answered. I shall bore the next person I speak to with that snippet of album-cover geekdom. As to the car... These are just gorgeous. I dislike large engines and daft cylinder counts, so this Lancia was a lovely way to swish suavely about the place in a cool and ecologically responsible way. A gorgeous car, but not too beautiful... and not a "shouty" car. Exquisite. I'd never done the maths... I always assumed that this 2000 was in production before the beastly, grasping, slightly Mussolini-tinged Agnelli crowd got their grubby mitts on the marque. I was wrong. Excellent video. Excellent car. Excellent memories... I never drove one, but in these matters vicarious memories still count. Bravo!
Well-informed video, nicely presented. I know you actually don't subscribe to this, but I wish people would stop blaming Fiat for " killing" Lancia. Without Fiat's commitment tokeeping Lancia alive there would be no Stratos,037, S4, Integrale, LC1, LC2.....
Absolutely - Fiat _saved_ Lancia, and as you say the Fiat era saw some great cars, some unfairly maligned. The independent days saw some beautiful engineering but it just wasn’t sustainable.
Your video made me subscribe to your channel instantly! I own a 2000 HF coupe since 2004... verde scuro with black leather interior. Didn't know about the Peter Gabriel album - seems to be the same colour as mine.
Welcome aboard! Verde Scuro is a lovely colour that really suits the looks - I’m not sure whether it’s the same as Storm Thorgerson’s though as I think the album cover photo was black & white then hand-coloured. My research didn’t manage to go any deeper than that, sadly…
I've never seen this car, or most of the others in this video. They are all to DIE for. This particular car looked to me, like an undiscovered BRISTOL! Had I known of these at the time, I would have contacted Bristol, and asked if they could have added it to their own range, to boost sales for both companies!
What a beauty! A fine balance between being elegant and characterful. It’s just that thing with the name, 2000, kind of neither here nor there (for lack of better reason for complaining ;)) Great video by the way, thanks!
Another great video. Love your channel. I had the 2000 carb version a few years back, and an HF like that one as a spares car. Can I suggest a good way to improve your channel? Far more of it. Never mind the day job!
As an owner of one of the first 5 speed Golf, it functioned very precise, but it hadn't a proper stop for the reverse gear, so you learned to make it go from second and down, not to go in the wrong direction, when starting from a traffic light.
Way back in the late 60's and through the 70's, I had a Flavia coupé. It remains the best car I've ever had, and I wish that I'd been able to keep it - but not really suitable with young children when they started arriving. My mother had a Flavia sedan. It, too, was an excellent car.
Wow! Yes, the car is lovely, but that's not what amazed me... This _video_ is *so much better* than 2 or 3 others on this channel, that I've watched in the last month or so. Better editing - tighter transitions, and more relevant inserted shots. (Errmm... there's _still_ a surprisingly large amount of time watching your bonce reading to us... 🙄) Better content narration, and explanations. Better production overall. Dare I say it, this feels _more professional_ , without it being impersonal and stiffly scripted. Nice work, mate. 🙂👍
We always rave about the elegant and understated exterior styling of Italian cars of that era, especially those from Pininfarina, but these videos are making me realise that the interiors were also something to behold as well, especially that pleated headlining similar to that in the Fiat 130 Coupé. The only none Italian car I've seen that in is the Jensen Interceptor. Stellantis, which owns most of the relevant Italian marques now, would do well to encourage them to resurrect this style to differentiate them from the mass of other badges in its ownership, and the depressingly drab efforts of nearly every other manufacturer other than the Rolls Royces and Bentleys of this world.
Made a nice maple binnacle for my 71 Fiat 124 coupe and installed the original Veglia gauges, replacing clock with ammeter. Looked much like your Lancia 2000.
Great video, somewhat of a unicorn car for me - I nearly bought a lovely dark blue example (1972, carburetor); when I was deeply in my Lancisti phase. Instead I jumped marque and bought an Alfa 33 - to my eternal regret. The less said about the £14,995 Integrale Evo I also passed on at that time along with an 8.32 and a Maserati are best consigned to the metaphorical cupboard of missed automotive opportunities.
Ah yes, I've got a metaphorical cupboard like that too: it has an immaculate £15k Maserati Khamsin and £11k Aston DBS in it, amongst others. We don't talk about those either.
I see plenty of 60s and 70s Italian metal on the roads here in Melbourne, but never one of these. I shall be checking in with my local Italian experts to see if it was sold on these shores soon.
You should try the Flavia 2000 coupé too. The differences are minor but very distinct anyway. I would love to have 5 gears, but is not really fond of the feel of the ZF in the 2000. The 4 gears in the Flavia 2000 (Lancia) gearbox just feel right for the car.
Yes I must confess that this Lancia model escaped me and wouldn't have been able to name it! What a beauty though. 😍 Re: Peter Gabriel's first album cover. I racked my brains trying to think what car he was sitting in. I was completely wrong thinking it was a Mercedes W123 or more likely a W116.
I’d always wondered what car it was on the album cover too! I didn’t know until I stumbled across it somewhere researching this video. I agree it looked very like a W116, just not _quite_ right.
Interesting fact about the instrument binnacle: the HF is the only version of the 2000 coupe that has the same instrument binnacle as the Ferrari 365 GT 2+2.
these have been on my radar recently, a lovely cruiser. Can't quite ge ton with the proportions - for me the wheelbase looks too short, but undeniably superb interior. How does this compare to a 130coupe manual? *liking the PG references 👍
I know what you mean about the proportions, there is a lot of overhang, especially in the nose. I've not driven a 130 Coupe, it would be a very interesting comparison indeed - though I suspect manual ones are pretty scarce. Do let me know if you get one, I'll be round like a shot!
A lovely car - must confess that I’ve never heard of the 2000 - but for me it’s always been eclipsed by the Gamma, which I guess (eventually) replaced it.
Dunno in UK, but in Italy front direction indicators were white in the 70s (at least up to the middle) since the light to be shown was white, too; so white front indicators were the norm. :)
You’re right about the boot but I was rushing and missed filming it 😬 I assumed the Gamma engine was a development of the Flavia/2000’s, but according to Matteo’s excellent book it was a whole new design, to reduce weight and overall size. A significant change was the move to timing belts rather than chains…with notorious results.
My dad was really into lancia and I can honestly say the 2000 is not a car I know at all. I had a beta and a couple of deltas as a teenager. They were great drivers cars, amazing handling for the day. He also aha d a couple of gammas, we had a champagne berlina which was the family car. Later he had a gamma coupe in champagne. Could even be the one you have, I'll have to check out the number plates.
Hi Martin, In light of your intention to make a new video on your Gamma, I think I can contribute a little something. Regarding the Flavia-2000HF-Gamma path, my research on the matter has led me to discover that what we've been told by numerous car "journalists" all these years didn't stand up to scrutiny. More specifically, the claim that the Gamma and the Citroën CX shared a development timeline as part of a joint venture (JV), which was canned after Charles De Gaulle vetoed it. Let's set the record straight: 1. Development work on the Projet L (which became the Citroën CX) started while Lancia was crippled, awaiting to be rescued or given the coup de grâce. In that state, it was highly unlikely Citroën would ever consider it an attractive, reliable partner for a JV. 2. Development work on the Gamma started in 1972, after Lancia released the Beta. It could not handle the development requirements of two concurrent projects, as it was still recovering from the disastrous Pesenti-Fessia regime. 3. In 1971, Citroën had built a Projet L prototype with a Flavia flat-four engine, but, as we all know, this came to nought, not least due to the dissolution of the PARDEVI partnership between Citroën and Fiat. The car's intended power plants were a rotary engine and the V6 from the SM, but this plan was unceremoniously killed by the 1973 fuel crisis and the reliability issues of rotary engines at the time. 4. Lancia toyed a bit with three prototypes modified to use the hydropneumatic suspension, but the PARDEVI partnership fell apart, so nothing became of them. 5. The floorpans of the CX and the Gamma were completely different and completely incompatible with each other. 6. Charles de Gaulle had indeed vetoed a Fiat-Citroën merger in 1968, a year before Lancia's acquisition by Fiat. The PARDEVI deal was eventually approved, and it all fell apart long after his death. He could not veto a Citroën-Lancia JV from the grave - unless someone summoned his spirit with an Ouija board or something. 7. The Gamma's flat-four was an evolution of the Flavia's engine. However, this didn't happen merely because Lancia wanted to be "different". Sergio Camuffo wanted that engine, because it gave a lower center of gravity up front. For more, you can read my three-part series titled "The Phantom Joint Venture" on Driven To Write. Here's the first part: driventowrite.com/2022/01/13/the-phantom-joint-venture-part-one/
Thank you very much for this - apologies, it got held for review (because of the link) and I’ve only just caught up with the reviewing. I’m off to read your articles on DTW right now - excellent as always!
thank you for this video. I really enojyed it. Do you plan to do some video with your Gamma too? I am proud owner of Lancia 2000 HF Coupe (currently in the state before restauration), Gamma Coupe and other few Lancias.
@@GrandThriftAuto they are for sure. I hope to return my 2000 HF Coupe it's shine. Can't wait to get it on the road. By the way, you have mentioned the backend, Kappa Coupe that follow much later has also such winglets,
I always liked the Lancia 2000 coupe, thought it was a “ very Italian” looking car, and preferred it over the Flavia coupe from before. Motor magazine weren’t so enthused over the styling when they road tested their example. Performance of the flat 4 , whilst very tractable , was considered very linear , whilst very credible for the engines capacity there was not a feeling of surge of torque which accompanied the Alfa Romeo twin cam in 2000 form or indeed the Fiat twin cam . However, notable engineering features were lack of rolling resistance even of very slightest of gradients, and general fit and finish, very precise gear change , very balanced engine note with virtually in audible tick over. Only rode in one once , and briefly I was particularly impressed with ride quality , struck me a little bit like a posh Alfasud having similarities in engine design being a flat 4. Still thought it was a car one could get very attached to and take a lot of pride in.
i never had cars for much longer as my daily driver but when i bought a lancia dedra 1.8 i.e.16valves i kept him for 9 years the most years i drove the same daily car it was faster than others 1.8L cars and less comsuming in open roads it was so filled with extras this in 91 that when the fan stoped working and in a very hot day the water spraid till all went out,this at 4 in the afternoon and it were 44 degrees celsius wich if it wasn´t for the digital climate control i would have melted but found after driving it for 44 kms without anywater in a road café with some houses they found a 5 liter gerry can to fill it with water ,went to the beach and back and the funny thing is when filling it with water the temperature gage started falling and when passing on the two positions of the fan velocity it activated the two for my surprise and no water dripping in the ground but in 3 monthes already in the fall it broke the alloy gaskets ,this in late november, well i did more than 400.000km´s with it , than i bought another 2.0L for 250€ because the owner having bought it 4 years sooner said his mechanic that the engine was gone ,i started it went to lancia´s dealer ,a friend and bought a 35€ cable conected to the transmition or fly wheel and to the centralina and new it was again ,most of lancia´s were sent to the junkyard because of this cable, it said in the bag r.p.m. cutter ,don´t know why but a easy fix, i have a lot of lancia´s ,alfa-romeus ,fiats ,bmw´s and Mercedes a poor man´s colection ,the most i paid for this cars was what today is 500€ some were ofered and some i paid what today is 20€ ,one bmw 2002 from 75 tii in mint condition, restored in the 80´s i trade it for a pioneer cassette deck i had bought 6 monthes earlier for 207€
These have always been on my top ten 'yes please' list. For me, the last true Lancia. Italian car aesthetics were at their peak in the late 60s and early 70s. Other cars on my list are the Fiat Dino coupè, the Fiat 130 coupè and the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV. No other country could touch them for style. The Lancia was, for me, in a league of its own and I shamefully turned one down as 'too expensive' second hand at £2000 in the 80s. What a fool!
5:52 - Am I right in spying a _dog-leg_ arrangement of gear lever positions? 1st to 2nd - across the gate, 4th to 5th - straight down..? Was this a Lancia thing at the time, or was it particular to a specific gearbox supplier, whose 'boxes Lancia was purchasing? [EDIT - 6:54 "It's a dog-leg gearbox, which takes...." Doh! 🤦🏼♂️)
It is a ZF box, IIRC. It is indeed a dogleg arrangement. I think that the box was only used in the 2000 and not in the earlier four speed Flavias, but I'm not sure about that.
Where have today's car designers gone wrong, or even gone to school. Is there any new car (at a similar price point) which is quite as beautiful as this lovely Lancia? And, let's be honest, back in the 70s there were quite a few more stunners which put today's bloated efforts to shame. Maybe I'm just getting old!
Cuando Fiat se hace cargo de algo lo arruina, lamentablemente así pasó con Lancia, una gran marca que Fiat mandó a la ruina !!! En Italia entre la Fiat y los políticos, sálvese quién pueda !!!
