Viva Italia! 2024 Lancia Ypsilon set to become a MINI Electric fighter

January 25, 2024January 21, 2024 John Mahoney 1933 Views Lancia, Ypsilon

Months before you’re supposed to see it the all-new 2024 Lancia Ypsilon has been caught filming in the Italian city of Milan ahead of its launch later this year.

Still the third best-selling car in Italy in 2023 with 44,929 sold despite the current model being its 12th year on sale, the next-gen Ypsilon is the car that the famous Italian brand, owned by global powerhouse Stellantis, cannot afford to get wrong, not least since it will be used to spearhead the relaunch of the famous 117-year-old car-maker.

Snapped testing by CocheSpias and roadcar19, the all-new battery-powered MINI Electric rival draws influence from the brand’s iconic back catalogue, referencing cars like the Aurelia, Delta and Stratos.

Paving the way for the Lancia to reinvent itself as a premium design-obsessed EV brand, the new Ypsilon is believed to be based on the same platform as the Fiat 500e, although full technical details have yet to be released.

That means when it arrives late this year we expect the Lancia Ypsilon to come with an identical 42kWh lithium-ion battery and for it to be driven by a front-mounted electric motor that could share the city car’s 82kW/220Nm output.

There’s no word yet exactly when the new Lancia Ypsilon will be officially unveiled, but the brand has already announced that it will be followed by a new flagship sedan in 2026 and then a long-awaited spiritual successor to the Delta hatch.

Both will feature a radical design and be equipped with the Stellantis group’s latest EV tech.

Lancia has not sold cars in Down Under officially since 1985 but if the brand’s reboot goes well export to right-hand drive markets could be greenlit with a senior exec namechecking Japan, South Africa and Australia back in a 2021 interview, although no time frame was given.

In the meantime, expect Lancia to start officially teasing its all-new Ypsilon in the build-up to its undisclosed launch in the coming months.