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The 81st Geneva International Salon marked Lancia's biggest but also, most controversial motor show appearance in recent years. Biggest because Lancia rolled out a total of six new vehicles and concept models, most controversial because four of those cars including the Thema flagship, the Flavia sedan and convertible concepts, and the Grand Voyager MPV are nothing more than rebadged Chryslers.

Lancia and Chrysler CEO Oliver Francois presented the Chrysler 300-based Thema under the sounds of an odd music mix. "Introducing this car of two continents in Geneva became a very personal affair, therefore I personally worked out a little piece of music, a blend of two musical cultures, Eminem's typical Detroit beat with a touch of Italian opera," said Francois just before the 2012 Thema saloon entered the stage.

When announcing the new Ypsilon’s key role in Lancia’s turnaround strategy at a press event Carscoop attended in Turin, Italy, earlier this week, company officials told us that the small car could be sold in the States under the Chrysler brand if American buyers will show enough interest towards the recently launched U.S.-spec Fiat 500. Furthermore, the same could happen with the Delta.

On the other hand, Lancia's people told us the company has no plans to revive famous nameplates such as the HF Integrale and Fulvia, simply stating that there’s no market for Lancia sports cars.

Although in its current state, the new Ypsilon doesn’t comply with U.S. standards, Lancia Product Manager Claudio Nervi told us that it could be “easily federalized” and that logistically “it's not a problem, as the Ypsilon could be produced at the [Fiat Group’s] Mexican plant”. However, Nervi also pointed out the decision depends “on the performance of the Fiat 500 in the US”.

Lancia is going to be quite busy at next month's Geneva Salon as the Italian brand deepens its ties with Chrysler by incorporating the latter's models into its range. Next up on our list after the new Lancia Thema, are the Flavia concept saloon and convertible models, which pay tribute not to their historic ancestor of the 1960s but to art of badge engineering. The two Flavia studies are based on the respective body styles of the Chrysler 200.

Without further ado, these are the Lancia models that will make their first public appearance in Geneva next month: the new Thema flagship sedan based on the Chrysler 300; the Grand Voyager minivan based on the Chrysler Town & Country / Dodge Grand Voyager; the Flavia sedan and convertible concepts based on the respective versions of the Chrysler 200; and finally, the subtly revised 2012MY Delta with a new grille plus trim and engine updates.

A small series production of the Lancia-badged New Stratos seems increasingly likely as time passes by and more people learn about the supercar created by Pininfarina for German businessman Michael Stoschek.

The New Lancia Stratos has completed yet another step of its lengthy unveiling process. This time we have information about the official presentation, which took place on November 29-30, at the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet, France. There, a select few had the opportunity to see the cabin for the first time, a racecar concept, while they were also informed that the New Stratos could be built in limited production run if there's substantial interest from potential buyers. Read more »

The PR people behind the New Stratos project continue to slowly reveal additional information about Pininfarina's one-off supercar. This time they released the full tech specs and performance figures.

Based on Ferrari F430 Scuderia underpinnings, the retrotastic Stratos packs a considerable punch. It measures 4.1 meters in length and tips the scales at just 1.247 kg (2.749 pounds) with the weight distributed 44% in the front and 56% at the rear. Power-to-weight ratio is 2.3 kg/hp, thanks to the 4.3-liter V8 engine, which churns out 540 hp and over 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. That’s 30 ponies more than the Scuderia’s stock powerplant.

In what could be one of the happiest days in Michael Stoschek's life, the German millionaire who commissioned the creation of a modern-day Lancia Stratos, took delivery this week of the one-off Italian supercar from Pininfarina's headquarters outside of Turin.

The Lancia Stratos is a rally legend and one of the most iconic sports cars of all time with legions of fans. One of those fans, German businessman Michael Stoschek, even went as far as commissioning Pininfarina to build a one-off modern-day iteration of the Stratos based on the hardware of a Ferrari 430 Scuderia.

But not many people know that the first spark that ignited this firestorm was a Bertone concept. Enter the 1970s Stratos Zero prototype. It all started when Bertone had the idea to mount the Fulvia's 1.6-liter V4 engine on a new base. This is how the Stratos Zero concept car was born, a 3.58 meter (141 inches) long and just 84 cm (33 inches) tall prototype envisioned by Marcello Gandini, the same man responsible for the designs of the Lamborghini Countach and Miura.

The automotive industry was taken by surprise a few months ago when it was revealed that German businessman, Michael Stoschek, commissioned Pininfarina to build an one-off successor to the legendary Lancia Stratos HF, based on the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. Now, new technical data emerged about this very special model.

The developers of the New Stratos have released some new video footage of their Ferrari F430 Scuderia-based supercar. The first clip shows WTTC and former Formula-1-Pilot Tiago Monteiro fine-tuning the chassis of the New Stratos at Balooco test track, Italy, while the second video is from the final wind tunnel test that took place on September 13th at Pininfarina's plant in Turin.

We've been keeping an eye out for video footage of the one-off New Stratos supercar being developed by Pininfarina ever since the news broke out about the build. And today we found the first film showing the car in the flesh doing some rounds on the track. The man you see talking about the reborn Stratos in the video clip is none other than Michael Stoschek, the German automotive parts supply magnate behind the project.