Let’s hope that, one day, there’s a documentary all about Lancia in the '80s. It would make for incredible viewing. In that decade, it was the last manufacturer to win a WRC title with a rear-wheel drive car, achieved great success in both Group B and Group A rallying, and dabbled in Group C sportscar racing with the LC2 - all while creating a weird and wonderful road car range, and being part of the corporate basket case that was Fiat.
Yet none of that was as bold, surely, as putting a Ferrari V8 in the Thema. Yes, it’s a car that’s been discussed at length before, and, no, they aren’t getting cheaper, but as the 40th anniversary of the Thema 8.32 approaches its creation looks crazier than ever. Crazy brilliant, for sure, but crazy nonetheless. Not least because the Type Four gang of luxury front-drivers was a fairly tame bunch. The Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, Alfa Romeo 164 and Alfa Romeo 164, despite some cool engines, were not really emotional, engaging executive cars. They were to be solid, stoic saloons and hatches for getting the German-rivalling job done.
Then there was the 8.32. Because naturally Lancia found a way to get the 308 GTB’s engine (albeit a cross-plane crank version) ahead of the passenger compartment in its front-wheel drive saloon. The whole project was a fascinating mismatch of ideas. Here was a car offered, on the whole, with four-cylinder power; the Thema launched with a 2.8 V6 also, but it was just 150hp strong. Adding a V8 flagship must have looked as ambitious as when BMW made a V10 M5 two decades later. The Thema wasn’t an enormously luxurious machine, either, yet the 8.32 gained the option of full Poltrona Frau leather, transforming the interior.
But thanks to the engine, making peak power at 6,750rpm and mated to a manual gearbox, the Thema wasn’t really a true luxury four-door anyway. It was a truly bizarre, beguiling car, one that only Lancia could have made. And which is now dearly loved by those who know for the sheer silliness of it all.
Precious few sold in period, especially here, because it cost £40k and was left-hand drive. Back then, an E28 M5 was much more powerful, rear-wheel and right-hand drive, as well as cheaper, which must have been pretty persuasive. But someone in Munich of all places wasn’t won over by the BMW, and instead plumped for a Reflex Green Thema with the Poltrona Frau leather in dark tan. An inspired choice. Note this is a Series 1 Thema, too, which proudly displayed its power source via a boot badge; the Series 2 did away with it.
Since first registration, it’s covered little more than 60,000 miles, and looks to be in exquisite shape. It’s not clear when the Thema came to the UK, but there’s a wealth of history with it, and a cambelt change last year. Which is going to save another owner a huge headache. Belts on an 80’s Ferrari V8 surely aren’t much easier even if they aren’t actually in a Ferrari. The 8.32 is for sale at £35k, or a little more than a Series 2 we featured in 2023 with a few more miles. So it doesn’t seem like values are skyrocketing. For a car to complete the Lancia collection, or a family-friendly way into a classic Ferrari V8, the weird and wonderful Thema continues to charm.
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