Lancia Gamma Coupé 2000. Driving with the pride of Brovarone and Johan

The Lancia Gamma is an exotic on our roads today. And that certainly applies to the Coupé, especially if it is also equipped with a 2-liter engine instead of a 2.5-liter engine. But we recently drove such an exotic coupe with that rare engine. The car belongs to Johan Alkema from Grou, and we had a great day with him and his rare Lancia. We already share the driving impression with you. And later the complete and fascinating story about this car will appear in our magazine.

The Gamma Coupé was designed by Aldo Brovarone under the auspices of Lancia and Pininfarina. The Italian designer drew a beautiful car, which actually reveals new details with every look. This coupé captivates, and does not hide its country of origin for a moment in terms of design. It is reminiscent of coupés of even more exclusive brands from the Laars, without losing authenticity. She is different in everything, and the Lancia Gamma has properties that you would not expect from an Italian coupe in advance.

Johan's car is a Lancia Gamma Coupé from 1981, so from the second Gamma series. The Italian beauty got the beautiful color Lancia Blu. That hue makes this already rare Italian coupe an even more distinguished car. And that's how the Gamma drives too. This Lancia is equipped with the engine that was mainly intended for the Italian home market: the 2000 version. And that is a fine power source, which shows a lot of flexibility. Moreover, thanks to the gearbox ratios and the chosen final reduction, the Lancia can be driven very smoothly. The engine runs smoothly and has a wide torque range. Moreover, the power source in this car - after a few adjustments - is completely bulletproof. Or to put it in Italian: antiproietille. The engines of the Lancia Gamma sometimes had their infamous ailments (connoisseurs know which), but those are excluded from Johan's car.

We fall into the house with the following door: the handling is formidable and very comfortable. The suspension and damping effortlessly absorb every small and larger bump in the road surface. The spring travels are long, but not for a moment does it feel week. What contributes to that comfort are those wonderfully sitting chairs, which are printed with a subtle L-profile. The furniture (also the sofa with the molded seats in the back is fantastic) and the panels wear a color that is complementary to the outside of the car to the millimeter. The decoration is in an interior that is not drawn extravagantly, but is styled Italian. And that means: very tasteful, with beautiful materials and beautifully designed details. An example of the latter is, for example, formed by the inward-curving door handles. It's only when you're on your guard that you see the design subtleties. This applies not only to the interior of the Lancia, but also to the exterior.

There is a great temptation to describe this Lancia Gamma Coupé in its entirety, but we will not do that here. You will read much more about that later. But what we can conclude is that we are impressed by her beauty. It is not for nothing that Johan is proud of his car, which is part of a larger collection of Lancia models. And it is not for nothing that Aldo Brovarone (1926-2020), the man who drew an impressive series of enchanting cars, was also very proud of the Lancia Gamma Coupé designed for him. How do we know? He told Johan himself a few years ago. And that pride is justified. Because this wonderfully driving and drawn Italian beauty shows why rarity can be incredibly beautiful.

Image: Bart Spijker

Thanks to: Johan Alkema