Lancia concept Pu+Ra HPE gives design preview of future EVs
Stellantis subsidiary Lancia is previewing its ten-year vision with an all-electric concept vehicle, the Lancia Pu+Ra HPE. While it is based on a model set to launch in 2024, it is unclear whether or not this version will ever hit the road.
“Today Lancia presents Lancia Pu+Ra HPE, the brand vision for the next 10 years that takes the brand into the era of electric mobility and sums up our way of conceiving and experiencing the car. Starting with the new Ypsilon, our cars of the future will be inspired by the Lancia Pu+Ra HPE,” says Luca Napolitano, CEO of the Lancia brand.
The Lancia Pu+Ra HPE evolved from the Lancia Pu+Ra Zero design study, with the acronym HPE for ‘High Performance Electric.’ The vehicle study is based on the chassis and powertrain of the future Lancia Ypsilon, which will launch in 2024 as an all-electric and hybrid variant.
The EV is said to have an electric range of more than 700 kilometres. Efficient aerodynamics are a prerequisite, says the carmaker. Aerodynamic features include a low roof, slim digital wing mirrors, and aerodynamic wheels.
Overall, the company says the Pu+Ra HPE shows a timeless, typically Italian style with an innovative approach that goes beyond the typical design language of an automobile.
“The cars’ volumes are created from the intersection of elementary and iconic forms such as the circle and the triangle,” Stallantis writes in its announcement. The model’s colour is called ‘Progressive Green’ and features a gold hue created through a unique process using liquid metal pigments.
That interior was developed luxury furniture brand Cassina. “Inside the concept car, an eclectic space inspired by interior design, the atmosphere of contemporary homes, by fluid architecture with great attention to detail in an overall composition of pure forms,” Stellantis writes. The Pu+Ra HPE also focuses on sustainability. For example, according to the carmaker, about 70 per cent of the touchable surfaces in the interior are made of environmentally friendly materials. “Four values have guided the brand on this path of sustainability: reinterpretation of tradition, Italian spirit, eclecticism and ‘home feeling’.”
HPE is the acronym for ‘High Performance Electric.’ It refers to the high-performance electric powertrain, high environmental sustainability, and new technology. Lancia first used the HPE acronym in the 1970s for the Beta model. At that time, however, the designation ‘High Performance Estate’ stood behind it to characterise a sporty station wagon.
As reported, from 2026, all new vehicle models from Lancia will be fully electric; from 2028, the brand will offer exclusively electric vehicles. The company does not reveal whether a production vehicle like the Pu+Ra HPE could be offered later.
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