Looked down the tube!
05/20/2025
When the Lancia Y10 was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1985, one detail attracted particular attention: the steep tailgate of every version, regardless of the color of the car, was painted black silk matt. This remained the case until the end of production in 1995, with the exception of a few special models, of which there were numerous. The Lancia Mini was intended to bring a touch of luxury to the small car class with its extensive equipment and fine materials. Lancia achieved this brilliantly with the Y10, more than a million of which were built. Its equipment included electric windows and hinged windows as well as Alcantara in the interior. The Y10 also helped the FIRE engine (Fully Integrated Robotized Engine), the first car engine built almost entirely by robots, to make its first appearance in a Fiat Group model. It was available in numerous variants until production was discontinued on May 7, 2020. Today, the remaining Lancia or - as it was known in certain markets - Autobianchi Y10 engines are far fewer in number than the more than 23 million FIRE engines built in total. This is a real shame. Because the car was not only a successful example of Italian style, but also a 1980s trendsetter. The Y10 popularized a product category that we now refer to as "premium".
And the Y10 offered its fellow motorists driving behind it a glimpse of another leading object of its time - the Trinitron picture tube from Sony! This is said to have served as a model for the two Y10 designers and brothers Antonio and Adriano Piovano when they designed the rear view of the car. At least that's what the two explained at a recent meeting in Italy to mark the 40th anniversary of the Y10. The duo worked at the Centro Stile and the Fiat Advanced Studio respectively in the 1980s under the direction of Tom Tjaarda.
So anyone who comes across the now far too rare case of driving behind a Y10 is literally looking down the tube!
