The Lancia Lybra (Type 839) is a compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Italian automaker Lancia between 1998 and 2005, based on the Alfa Romeo 156 floorpan,[5] and replacing the Dedra in Lancia's range. Like the Dedra, the Lybra was available as a Berlina (saloon) or a Station Wagon (estate). A total of 164,660 cars were made.[6]

Lancia Lybra
Overview
ManufacturerLancia
Production1998–2005
AssemblyItaly:
Designer
Body and chassis
ClassCompact executive car (D)
Body style4-door saloon
5-door estate
LayoutFront-engine, front-wheel-drive
PlatformType Two rev. 3[citation needed]
Related
Powertrain
Engine
Transmission
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,593 mm (102.1 in)[3]
Length4,466 mm (175.8 in)[3]
Width1,743 mm (68.6 in)[3]
HeightSaloon: 1,462 mm (57.6 in)
Estate: 1,470 mm (58 in)[3]
Curb weight1,250–1,420 kg (2,756–3,131 lb)[5]
Chronology
PredecessorLancia Dedra

Name

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The model's name refers to the zodiac sign of Libra and signalled an end to Lancia's Greek letter model name convention. The Lybra was manufactured in the Rivalta plant near Turin until 2002[7] and after that in Mirafiori plant in Turin.[1]

Styling

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Lancia Lybra SW

The Lybra was styled at the Centro Stile Lancia,[5] contrary to earlier Lancia models, which were commissioned to external design studios. Initial models were carried out by Enrico Fumia in 1992 and by the time of his departure from Centro Stile Lancia, the project was finished by Michael Robinson. The interior was designed by Flavio Manzoni.

 
Lancia Lybra Berlina

The Lybra's distinctive taillights were shared with the 2001 facelift of the Fiat Marea sedan for the Latin American markets.[8][9]

Trim levels

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At launch, the standard trim levels were called Lybra, LS and LX.[10] In 2003, the Business and LS Plus trims were added in some markets, the Business trim has fabric seats, and wood decor on the interior while the LS Plus trim has Suhara or Madras upholstery and silver decor on the doors and the dashboard. The top-of-the-line trim was called the Emblema, first debuting in November 2002 at the Bologna Motor Show. It was inspired by the classic Lancia Flaminia and came with tobacco brown leather interior (optional Alcantara), magnesium dashboard trim, exclusive 16 inch (10 spoke) alloy wheels, privacy glass and a gloss painted black roof.

Base model equipment: Electric front windows, 5" color display on the dashboard, Dual zone Climate control, rear vents for the A/C (one in the middle, and two on the bottom of the seats), ABS, EBD, 4 airbags (front and side), seatbelt pretensioner, electrically-adjustable door mirrors with electric heating, Electronic Lumbar Support and height adjustable driver's seat, 4-way adjustable steering wheel, arm rest front (with Storage compartment) and rear (with cup holder), 5 three point seat belts and five headrests, ambient light in the bottom and inside of the doors, remote Key, FPS system. 15" wheels, and 195/65 R15 tyres.

Optional equipment: GPS navigation with a GSM phone, electronic adjustable front seats, 4 electronic windows (up and down automatic), Electrochromic Rearview mirror, Rain sensor, demister sensor, Leather, Alcantara or Suhara (after 15.12.2003) seats, electrically-adjustable door mirrors with fold function, sunroof, Cruise control, BOSE Sound System with 7 speakers, 6 disc CD Changer, AUX, 6 Airbags (2 front, 2 side, and 2 side curtain), three 180w Cigarette lighter sockets, Xenon headlights, headlight washers, Nivomat self-levelling hydropneumatic rear suspension, fog lights, 60/40 Split Fold-Down Rear Seats (optional for Berlina), multifunction leather steering wheel and gear knob, ASR with Hill-holder (only for the 1.9 JTD, 2.0 20v, 2.4 JTD), 15" wheels and 205/60 or 16" 205/55 tyres.

Business trim equipment: Only in two colours (435 Blu Lancia and 612 Grigio Elisa Met), and two engines (1.6 16v or 1.9 JTD). Interior in basic grey cloth. Higher Trim level like than base model Lybra, added rear electric windows, 6 AirBag and fog light.

Emblema trim equipment: Top of the range trim and available with 1.9 JTD, 2.4 JTD or 2.0 20v engines. Titanium trimmed console and interior details. Black roof option in SW (with black ‘railings’). Special 20-spoke 16” wheels. Interior trim could be chosen from beige leather, Alcantara or Suhara (after 15.12.2003) tobacco leather or tobacco Suhara interior colour options.

Special editions

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Lancia Lybra Intensa SW in 'Grigio Fontana'
 
Lancia Lybra Intensa interior

Two special editions of the Lybra were offered during its production run:

Executive: This model was focused on luxury and featured leather or Alcantara seats and all optional equipment as standard (demister sensor, sunroof, photocromatic rearview mirror, foldable side mirrors, heated seats, satellite navigation, GSM Phone, Cruise control, Xenon headlamp and headlamp washer, Nivomat rear suspension, Bose sound system), along with special 15-spoke 16” alloy wheels. Only two engines were available for this model, the 2.0 20v petrol, and 2.4 JTD diesel.

Intensa: The Intensa Edition is characterised with its dark accents consisting of darkened front grille, and darkened chrome around the outside, on the lights, license plate light cover, chrome strip on the bumpers and the doors, dark grey pentagram-shaped alloy wheels. An exclusive dark grey exterior colour called the 'Grigio Fontana' was also available for this trim. On the interior, the Intensa featured a combination of black leather and dark grey Alcantara seats with a dark wood insert on the doors and the dashboard, a chrome door handle, black background with chrome rings in the gauge cluster, chrome anchor points in the trunk and a Bose sound system as standard. Only 4 engines were available, 1.8 (for Nedherlands), 1.9 JTD, 2.0 20v petrol, and 2.4 JTD.

Specifications

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The Lancia Lybra has a front-wheel drive layout with transversely-mounted engines. The Lybra is available with a 5-speed manual transmission. Models equipped with the 2.0 L engine had an option of a 4-speed Aisin automatic transmission, called the Comfortronic by Lancia.[11] The Lybra utilises MacPherson struts at the front and BLG ("Bracci Longitudinali Guidati", translating to "Guided Longitudinal Arms") multilink rear suspension at the rear. Estate versions were also available with Boge-Nivomat self-levelling hydropneumatic rear suspension. The car uses four-wheel disk brakes, with front ventilated, ABS with EBD and optional ASR with hill-holder.[12]

Model Displacement Power Torque Top speed Acceleration 0–100 km/h (0-62 mph)* CO2 emissions** Kerb weight Year
1.6 L 16v DOHC 1581 cc 103 PS (76 kW; 102 hp) at 5,750 rpm 144 Nm at 4,000 rpm 185 km/h (115 mph) 11,3s/11,9s 199/203 1250 kg/1290 kg
1.6 L 16v DOHC 1596 cc 103 PS (76 kW; 102 hp) at 5,750 rpm 145 N⋅m (107 lb⋅ft) at 4,000 rpm 185 km/h (115 mph) 11,3s/11,9s 194/197 1250 kg/1290 kg from 2000
1.8 L 16v DOHC 1747 cc 131 PS (96 kW; 129 hp) at 6,300 rpm 164 N⋅m (121 lb⋅ft) at 3,800 rpm 201 km/h (125 mph) 10,3s/10,7s 199/205 1300 kg/1340 kg Euro2
1.8 L 16v DOHC 1747 cc 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) at 6,300 rpm 156 N⋅m (115 lb⋅ft) at 3,800 rpm 201 km/h (125 mph) 10,3s/10,7s 198/206 1300 kg/1340 kg from 2000
2.0 L 20v DOHC 1998 cc 154 PS (113 kW; 152 hp) at 6,500 rpm 186 N⋅m (137 lb⋅ft) at 3,750 rpm 210 km/h (130 mph) 9,6s/9,9s 236/238 1350 kg/1390 kg Euro2
2.0 L 20v DOHC 1998 cc 150 PS (110 kW; 148 hp) at 6,500 rpm 181 N⋅m (133 lb⋅ft) at 3,750 rpm 210 km/h (130 mph) 9,6s/9,9s 233/238 1350 kg/1390 kg from 2000
2.4 L 20v DOHC 2446 cc 170 PS (125 kW; 168 hp) at 6,000 rpm 226 N⋅m (167 lb⋅ft) at 3,500 rpm only Lybra Protecta
1.9 L 8v SOHC JTD 1910 cc 105 PS (77 kW; 104 hp) at 4,000 rpm 255 N⋅m (188 lb⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm 185 km/h (115 mph) 11,3s/11,9s 154/159 1310 kg/1350 kg
1.9 L 8v SOHC JTD 1910 cc 110 PS (81 kW; 108 hp) at 4,000 rpm 255 N⋅m (188 lb⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm from 2000
1.9 L 8v SOHC JTD 1910 cc 115 PS (85 kW; 113 hp) at 4,000 rpm 275 N⋅m (203 lb⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm 190 km/h (118 mph) 10,8s/11,3s 157/162 1310 kg/1350 kg from 2001
2.4 L 10v SOHC JTD 2387 cc 134 PS (99 kW; 132 hp) at 4,000 rpm 304 N⋅m (224 lb⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm 200 km/h (124 mph) 9,9s/10,2s 179/182 1370 kg/1410 kg
2.4 L 10v SOHC JTD 2387 cc 140 PS (103 kW; 138 hp) at 4,000 rpm 304 N⋅m (224 lb⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm from 2000
2.4 L 10v SOHC JTD 2387 cc 150 PS (110 kW; 148 hp) at 4,000 rpm 308 N⋅m (227 lb⋅ft) at 1,800 rpm 212 km/h (132 mph) 9,4s/9,6s 176/179 1370 kg/1410 kg from 2002

for Berlina/SW *to 100km/h **in g/km

With 2 persons and 40 kg luggage.

Lybra Euro 3 fuel consumption
l/100 km Body 1.6 16v 1.8 16v 2.0 20v 1.9 JTD 2.4 JTD
Urban
Extra-urban
Combined
BN 11.2
6.4
8.2
11.8
6.3
8.3
13.8
7.5
9.8
8.1
4.7
5.9
8.9
5.3
6.6
Urban
Extra-urban
Combined
SW 11.4
6.5
8.3
12.4
6.5
8.7
14.0
7.7
10.0
8.4
4.8
6.1
9.1
5.4
6.8

Sales

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The Lancia Lybra failed to meet its initial sales targets. These were set at 55,000 to 65,000 a year.[13]

The following are sales in Europe, which absorbed the majority of the vehicle's production:

Calendar year Sales in Europe[14][15]
1999 12,084
2000 53,218
2001 41,583
2002 22,830
2003 16,559
2004 9,525
2005 5,021

References

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  1. ^ a b "20.06.2005 As the final Lancia Lybra rolls out of the Mirafiori factory". italiaspeed.com. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  2. ^ "Production cars". fumiadesign.com. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Lancia Lybra official website". www.lancialybra.com. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  4. ^ "Lancia specifications at". Carfolio.com. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  5. ^ a b c d CarsFromItaly.com Lancia pages accessed via the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Dati produzione ANFIA". Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Lancia Lybra information from Automotive Intelligence". Autointell.com. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  8. ^ "Comparativo Sedãs Médios". Revista Quatro Rodas. February 2005. Archived from the original on 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  9. ^ "Comparativo Completo". Best Cars. 2002-01-15. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  10. ^ "LANCIA NEEDS LYBRA TO REVERSE SALES SLIDE". europe.autonews.com. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  11. ^ Libretto uso e Manutenzione Lancia Lybra 2005 (PDF)
  12. ^ "LANCIA LYBRA: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS". lanciapress.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  13. ^ "Fiat lance la Lybra pour redonner sa «splendeur passée» à Lancia". Le Temps (in French). 1999-06-23. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  14. ^ Europe = EU27 + UK + Switzerland + Norway + Iceland
  15. ^ Sales, ModelLancia Car SalesLancia Model (2014-02-10). "Lancia Lybra European sales figures". carsalesbase.com. Retrieved 2022-02-04.