The gorgeous prototype has a bonkers streamlined design and touts a 700-km range
Lancia is gearing up to go electric.
The storied Italian marque is being transformed into an EV maker by parent company, Stellantis. We’ll have to wait at least a few years for the brand’s first battery-powered model, but its first electric concept, the Pu+Ra HPE, is certainly worth getting excited about.
The Pu+Ra HPE may be the first Lancia with an electric power train, but any discussion of the prototype has to start with its bold design. The first part of the concept’s name refers to the brand’s new “pure and radical” design language, and if this is what we have to look forward to, then sign us up. The sporty two-door shares some elements in common with Lancia’s most famous car, the Stratos, including a wedge shape and round taillights. The rest, though, is all new. We’ve never seen such a smooth, streamlined shape from the automaker, and the new Y-shaped headlight array, a reinterpretation of the brand’s classic grille, on the EVs nose is stunning.
The concept may look striking from the outside, but its cabin is even more impressive. The cabin, which was designed in collaboration with Cassina, has a look inspired by Italian furniture design. The wide-open space has a dashboard made of a single piece of glass, two freestanding armchair-inspired seats up front and a pair of round tables in the front and back where the central console would normally be. More than 70 percent of the interior’s “touchable” surfaces are made from eco-sustainable materials, too.
Details about the Pu-Ra HPE’s power train are scant at this point, but the second part of the concept’s name stands for High Performance Electric, and it sounds like the EV will just be that. Lancia may not have revealed output figures for the setup, but it did say that the coupe will be able to run 700 km on a single charge. You’ll also be able to add 100 km of range in just 10 minutes when connected to a fast charger.
Now for the bad part. There are currently no plans to put the Pu-Ra HPE into production any time soon. We wouldn’t be surprised to see some elements carry over to the brand’s first battery-powered model, the Ypsilon hatchback, which is due in 2026, according to Road & Track. The EV to really look forward to, though, is the reborn Delta, which is currently scheduled to arrive two years after that.
