Lancia Lybra

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The Lancia Lybra was a premium mid-size car from Italian Fiat Auto's upscale marque Lancia. Based on the Alfa Romeo 156 floorpan (and thus being related to the prolific Fiat Tipo platform), it replaced the Dedra within Lancia's lineup, and was similarly low-profile to its predecessor, rather than as popular as its Alfa sibling. Just like the Dedra, the Lybra is available as both a sedan and station wagon (billed SW by Lancia)

The model's name, which can be seen as a reference to both the zodiac sign of Libra and the Latin word for balancing scale, signals an end of the previous Lancia naming theme involving the use of Greek letters as model names. The Lybra is built in the Rivalta plant near Turin[Lancia Lybra information from Automotive Intelligence].

Styling

The Lybra was styled in Centro Stile Lancia, contrary to earlier Lancia models, which were commissioned from external design studios. Its styling is a clear departure from "rectangular" shapes prevalent in 1980s and 1990s Lancias, using heritage-inspired round headlights and other styling touches inspired by Lancias of the 1950s, like the Aurelia and Appia.

On the other hand, it wasn't as edgy as the Lancia Thesis and later models, and still carried many references to 1990s Lancias, such as the shape of the grille, or the treatment of the upper body section of the wagon (reminiscent of that of the Lancia Kappa SW). Interestingly, the Lybra's very distinctive taillaights were clearly the inspiration for the facelift given to the Fiat Marea sedan for the Latin American markets.

Engines Lancia Lybra is a front-wheel drive car with transversely-mounted engines. The Lybra is available with a 5-speed manual, and the 2.0 L had an option of a 4-speed automatic transmission, called the Comfortronic by Lancia.

1.6 L 16v DOHC I4 - 1596 cc, 103 PS (76 kW), 145 N·m
1.8 L 16v DOHC I4, VVT, V.I.S - 1747 cc, 130 PS (96 kW), 156 N·m
2.0 L 16v DOHC I5, VVT, V.I.S - 1998 cc, 150 PS (110 kW), 181 N·m
1.9 L 8v SOHC JTD I4 common rail turbo diesel - 1910 cc, 103 PS (76.8 kW), 255 N·m, uprated for 2002 to 115 PS (85 kW), 275 N·m
2.4 L 8v SOHC JTD I5 common rail turbo diesel - 2387 cc, 133 PS (99.2 kW), 304 N·m, uprated for 2002 to 150 PS (110 kW), 308 N·m
References

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