BBC Top Gear Programme - Lancia Feature 29th Nov 2009

[TonyLanciaBeta]

Beta HPE on Top Gear

A couple of weeks ago BetaBoyz, through Club Lancia Sport were asked to find 3 Beta’s for a Top Gear feature on Lancia being filmed at the  Black Mountain Pass,Wales

Cars also Featuring:

-Fulvia
-Stratos in Al Italia livery
-Stratos road version   
-Flaminia 
-Aurelia -  B24 convertible
-037  in Martini livery 
-Delta Integrale   
-Gamma Coupe   
-Monte Carlo   
-Thema 8:32
-Monte Carlo

We were asked to find: Beta Coupe, Trevie and a Monte Carlo, and found 3 perfect examples

Sadly in the end they only used the Monte Carlo
We later found out they found a their own HPE a Silver 1982 Reg no: WPY 514Y (anyone know the car)

And have been told it was very rusty )-:
Checking with DVLA Tax database the Date of Liability was 28 06 1993
So it’s not been on the road for 16 years.

It gets worse apparently the HPE apparently was blown to bits, and yet another Marina was given the piano treatment
   
   
Links:
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/mytime/Gear-drops-secret-episode-Neath/article-1352148-detail/article.html

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?p=260719

http://www.corsa-c.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=237010

I think the show will be screened end Nov/early Dec 09

[lanciamad]

Sounds like this could very much break or make the return of lancia in the UK If they ever decide to return that is. As ever, another clarkson + beta = bad publicity 

[thecolonel]

The photoshoot was kept reasonably quiet for quite some time but there are always
spoilers.
We were warned that the Gamma belts problem and the Beta rust would of course
be raised and probably some other less well known errors, but I think generally it
will be more good news rather than bad.

Geoff

[rossocorsa]

isn't the bbc supposed to show a balanced view so that means that every time a Ford is shown they should mention strut tops failing on old escorts, 70s rust when any  japanese car is mentioned (and dangerous brake fade and tyres made of imitation teflon) subframes and cutting out in the rain when they show a mini (well it was only 50 years ago....) I suspect they may not mention that the vast majority of betas were not affected and rusted a lot less than alfas at the time plus the ground breaking beta suspension design...if they want to drop pianos onto marinas though fair enough and blowing up a terminally gone hpe is not such a disaster but as one of the most practical sporting cars of it's age it didn't deserve it shame about the spares that might have been useful though....  these days if I mention I have a Beta to anyone and they used to have one they almost always get a glazed expression and say what a wonderful car it was

[HFStuart]

Given the stick they give marinas, beetles and others I thik they're pretty balanced. Lets face it ours cars may not have been as bad as they were made out to be by the press but early Betas were pretty shocking.

[fay66]

After the last hatchet job clarkson did on Lancia, I wouldn't hold your breath.

Brian

[rossocorsa]

Given the stick they give marinas, beetles and others I thik they're pretty balanced. Lets face it ours cars may not have been as bad as they were made out to be by the press but early Betas were pretty shocking.

well agreed some had bad corrosion mostly s1 berlinas, I can still remember seeing a s1 berlina in the late seventies with rust blistering out all over I can also remember a Fiat 124 coupé that was even worse and not so old at the time (plus every alfa made in the seventies datsun toyota etc....) but no one drags up Fiat's rust history any more. in the seventies we didn't need a scrappage scheme because all cars, irrespective of make, bio degraded in less than 10 years!  More to the point no one really acknowledges the amazing dynamics of the beta compared with the contemporary competition and the much copied rear suspension (how Fiat must regret that they didn't bother to patent it!!)

[thecolonel]

Actually, I think the last Lancia bit by JC (Sunday Times) was from last years Stanford Hall, where he raved
about just every Lancia he saw, and of course he admits the Fulvia was one of the prettiest cars ever.
bit surprised the LMC didn't want to get involved though.

[HFStuart]

well agreed some had bad corrosion mostly s1 berlinas, I can still remember seeing a s1 berlina in the late seventies with rust blistering out all over I can also remember a Fiat 124 coupé that was even worse and not so old at the time (plus every alfa made in the seventies datsun toyota etc....) but no one drags up Fiat's rust history any more. in the seventies we didn't need a scrappage scheme because all cars, irrespective of make, bio degraded in less than 10 years!  More to the point no one really acknowledges the amazing dynamics of the beta compared with the contemporary competition and the much copied rear suspension (how Fiat must regret that they didn't bother to patent it!!)

I wouldn't disagree with that. Lancia's weren't much worse than their contemparies for rust and were way ahead in design and engineering - Lancia just made the mistake of admitting that the cars rusted.

In fact about the only cars from the 70's that didn't rust before they left the production line were the Allegro and the Chevette !

[HFStuart]

bit surprised the LMC didn't want to get involved though.

I can't see much common ground between the 'old fogeys' (to quote an editorial or two) of the LMC and Clarkson. It wouldn't surprise me if they read as far as the words Top Gear and then binned the e-mail ! Besides some of the cars featured are post October 69 - a period the LMC has the odd blind spot about !

[lanciamad]

I can't see much common ground between the 'old fogeys' (to quote an editorial or two) of the LMC and Clarkson. It wouldn't surprise me if they read as far as the words Top Gear and then binned the e-mail ! Besides some of the cars featured are post October 69 - a period the LMC has the odd blind spot about !

True in many cases , I feel the main reason Club Lancia Sport has grown so quickly is due to the fact, all is equal and welcome, whether its a Lambda or Delta.

[MattNoVAT]

I have no issue with TG blowing up a 26 year old rusty HPE, it's not like it's a new car that they are destroying just to denegrate a manufacturer. Some of us can see it for what it is... Humourous entertainment.  The Beta has long been a discontinued model and I'd be the first to admit that there are some right sheds out there! I don't think thes things should be taken too seriously.

As for peoples thoughts on the LMC attitudes and CLS I find this all very interesting!

I'm looking forward to the Lancia special, I doubt it will have much sway over what Fiat / Lancia decide to do over rejoining the UK market.  The rust problem did happen 30 years ago and things have changed in the motor industry. If anything the global recession will have more of an impact on the timing.

But the Marina deserves the piano treatment IMO !

[rossocorsa]

I'm more concerned about the pianos

[TreviDash]

I'd be annoyed if they tried to hoodwink the audience again into thinking the Beta they have got hold of is a typical example. 

Remember TG Clarkson and the apology they had to make in 1994 to Arthur Mead and his Beta saloon?

[rossocorsa]

I'd be annoyed if they tried to hoodwink the audience again into thinking the Beta they have got hold of is a typical example.  

Remember TG Clarkson and the apology they had to make in 1994 to Arthur Mead and his Beta saloon?

whatever happened to that car by the way? to be fair it could well be a typical HPE (very rusty after 25 years)but when did you last see a sierra of the same vintage... exactly all rusted away to oblivion so it's no disgrace to be rusty after 25  or so years is it?

[MattNoVAT]

Many old cars go on to become rusty old bangers and when they reach that point in their life, so why not go out in a blaze of glory as a bit of a laugh?

I had a old Cortina one that I hated with a passion because it was such a pig to start in the mornings, eventually I forced it into second while doing "a fair lick of speed" and dumped the clutch... the gearbox let go in a most spectaculay manner :-)  shortly after that I part owned a purple Prisma 1600, no matter how hard we drove that car it would just not give up (picture valves bouncing off the underside of the bonnet), we absolutely thrashed it mercilessly but it just wouldn't die. But we had a huge amount of fun trying.  It doesn't mean that I don't like Lancias though and it does't mean I'd do the same to my pride and joy.

I also once watched my friend drive/smash an Allegro Vanden Plas through an old RAF wooden billet hut (in a Bodie and Doyle / Starsky and Hutch style).  I guess the Allegro owners club wouldn't appreciate it but we thought it was highly amusing at the time.

Moral is, old rusty cars are what they are - old rusty cars that are either going to be crushed - or in this case blown up by TG then crushed.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have given an old banger a memorable exit.  ( Thats why banger racing is such a hoot! )

Anyway, lets see the program before passing judgement on the TG team.

[rossocorsa]

I'm not passing judgement ..yet but I will be unhappy if they pull the rusty Lancia card on a car that is of an age that any well used example would be rusty, after driving lancias since '83 the joke has worn too thin in the media. nothing against them blowing up a rusty hpe so long as it is beyond redemption it's the reason they are likely to give for it that worries me if they want to blow up the car that killed them in the UK I think they should blow up a Dedra what an excuse of a lancia that was (before anyone goes on about that I had a dedra turbo for 5 years it was a lovely car in many ways, although the most unreliable one I ever had, but it just didn't handle like a lancia it was a bit of a let down to say the least)

[lanciamad]

Just seen clip for the new top gear series, looks like a green coupe in bad condition is being driven, and i presume the same car later on, is shown on fire

[lanciamad]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R135OMKjOlg

[rossocorsa]

I'm not sure why the lanciasport brigade are so happy about being associated with that lot but I suppose that we'll have to wait to judge. Is the Beta yet gain to become the laughing stock orphan? Let's hope that it's all very much tongue in cheek and that they blow up/squash/crush/piano another marina instead