Summer returned to the UK for just a couple of hours this afternoon, not that I noticed as I had made my descent once more into the other-worldly void that is The Carchive. There I bravely battled fierce creatures, the defenders of the realm, in an effort to purloin and return to the surface the priceless relic you see before you.
While I was in there I searched everywhere for a Thema 8.32 brochure, but it was in vain. I know there’s a pre-facelift one knocking about somewhere, too. But for today we’ll make do with the “New” and “Improved” Thema The Second, For which this is the ’93 brochure.


It’s reasonably fair to say, isn’t it, that the Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema were always the “Others” of the Type Four cars. The Saab 9000 was probably the most successful, globally, the Alfa 164 came second, and the Thema and Croma were left trading punches at the back of the class.
It’s not hard to see why. The Saab still managed to present itself with a degree of Saabishness, and certainly felt heavily built, even compared to other Type Fours, the Alfa was blessed with unique and wonderful bodywork and interior styling and an extremely charismatic Alfa V6.
The Fiat and the Lancia were a little more difficult to quantify. The Fiat was, well, just a big car and is only really of interest today thanks to its scarcity, and while the 9000 and 164 are actually strong enough to stand on their own merits, the Thema needs a bit more contemplation to see the appeal.

“The Fascination of the new Lancia Thema is seen in the subtle lines that lend dignity to such a spirited performer”.
“Subtle” would be correct. This body shape was the work of Pininfarina, and I can’t see it being one of the famous styling house’s more challenging projects, especially since the doors are wholly the same as on the Saab and Fiat. Nevertheless, it was inoffensive enough.
What it lacked, then and now, was presence. It became a little bit invisible when placed in the presence of cars from the other upscale European brands. This facelifted car with its prominent front grille, was launched as an effort to rectify that failing. But it wasn’t really enough.

“…..we don’t have anything terribly interesting to say about the interior”
The greatest attribute of the Thema was its spacious and extremely well appointed interior, and I’m baffled as to why the brochure says barely a word about it. Seat facings were in either woolcloth on the lower models or a fabulous alcantara suede on the proper trim levels. There were swathes of delicately polished real wood; the doors were capped with it and the dashboard had fillets which slid out of view to conceal the stereo equipment.
 
It looked great, and even the ACS (Automatic Climate System) panel, identical to that fitted to the Saab 9000 managed to look more stylish in this car. Yes, the Thema was undoubtedly a nice place to sit.

“Lancia have built the supreme expression of exuberant performance in the two-litre class with a saloon that reaches 62 mph in seven seconds”.
And while you’re sitting, you might as well be propelled along at high speed. While it’s true that all of the type four cars had high-performance variants, the quickest Themas were particularly scorching.
Though V6’s were offered (and there was a particular V8 variant you may have heard of) the mainstay of the range was the four-cylinder, two litre model. Based on a long-lived Aurelio Lampredi Fiat engine design, after turbocharging it kicked out 205hp and 224 ft lb of torque. The Thema Turbo, thus equipped, was good for 143 mph.
There were diesels, too, but let’s not spoil the mood.

“The Thema is therefore preferred by the independent thinker, the driver who prefers classic understatement to an overdemonstrative statement of power.”
That’s patently bollocks, isn’t it? The Lancia Thema was, in terms of its market appeal, almost certainly the Lincoln Town Car or Rover 800 of its native land. It wasn’t going to appeal to anybody much with upwardly mobile aspirations, and that was its downfall. It was always going to appeal to a core demographic of a certain age.
And I have to say I find quite a lot of appeal in having a car which looks as vanilla as this yet which goes so hard. Also I’d much rather have one of these than a Chrysler 300.
(All images are of original manufacturer publicity materials, copyright remains property of FCA. A Chrysler with alcantara seats just doesn’t quite set my senses tingling)