Lancia Motor Club

In Yorkshire:
https://mathewsons.co.uk/auctions/auction-dates/vehicles/15671-new-entry-1998-lancia-coupe-kappa
3000 V6, Auto, LHD, looks very clean, and nice!

Would be nice if it got a spot in Bangers & Cash to bring them some publicity, but just too left field alas

If that was RHD I would be on it like a tramp on chips, but there are of course no RHD Kappas.

I might still... I miss having a Busso in my life.

I've never seen one - a pretty car but too new for me!

Mike

A bit of an Alfa 166, arguably, but that is not in itself a bad thing.  A three litre 24 valve Busso is a very fine engine.

EDIT:  is it fairer to say that an Alfa 166 is a bit of a Lancia Kappa?  Maybe.

If you check the MOT history it failed on serious corrosion of the suspension mounts nice to think it has been repaired properly...that is not by me.

My friend Steve and I went to one of their auctions last September and they were there filing, on last weeks show we spotted ourselves in the audience  ;D

Did yiou wave?

Mike

Their web site shows it as sold but frustratingly doesn’t show how much for. Convinced there isn’t really much of a market for a k coupe in the UK, mostly because no one outside Lancia circles has even heard of them

I bought mine new in 2000 in Amsterdam, sufficiently stand out that one day we got a knock on the door from Jay Kay (renowned car person and leader of Jamiroquai) asking what it was!

Not planning to let mine go but would be nice if they gained a following, still one of the best cars I’ve ever driven and said from a standpoint of a lot of expensive cars driven

I'd love one but the LHD stops me,,

Don't let LHD put you off! You soon get used to the embarrassment of opening the wrong door!

But seriously, after driving a Stratos replica as a RHD car for 25 years before I converted it to LHD, the way it should always have been, it took me about a day to get used to driving it! Gearchanges aren't an issue at all, especially if you're naturally right handed. The hardest part is getting used to the rear view mirror being on the "wrong" side but it's second nature now. Road positioning takes a little more though in a car with slightly restricted rear/side vision (like a Stratos) but not with something like a Kappa!

If you fancy one, go for it! You'll only regret it if you don't!

Guy

Absolutely do not let LHD restrict you in choice of cars. I’ve owned so many LHD cars over the years, even my wife who is not a confident driver was driving a pair of LHD Ypsis and then a LHD Fiat 500 which covered a period of 13 years before going back to RHD again. At one point we had 6 LHD vehicles between us and no RHD ones ranging from LHD smart car up to LHD Ferrari and Cadillac Escalade

When driving around town it makes little difference, some ways it’s better to judge where the kerb is and you get out onto the pavement! On motorways and dual-carriageways it doesn’t make a difference. People seem to overtake so rarely on single carriageway roads these days that the main complaint that you can’t see past the car in front becomes less relevant, although you just position differently
After all, most of us have driven RHD cars on a European holiday and not been phased by it

I have owned a LHD Matra Murena and I own a LHD Appia.   It's not so bad once you get used to it.

I wonder what the sale price was.

It all depends on the type of motoring you do: I've owned two left-hand drive cars, and whilst I won't say 'never again', I certainly won't consider a left-hand drive car if there's a right-hand drive version available. I do virtually no town/city or dual carriageway/motorway running, it's all B-road and country lane motoring, and visibility is a very real issue. I would have great reservations about a modern lhd car with the poor visibility inherent in modern designs - a nice angular design like a Delta is just about OK - and there's no point in having a modern car with its inherent performance advantage if it can't be used to overtake!.

I wonder why Matthewson do not publish sale results as the other auction house do?

Mike

I wouldn't call Matthewsons an "auction house" in the sense of say Brightwells or Bonhams. The reality TV show has given them a public profile out of all proportion to the size of their business. I would speculate that they don't have the infrastructure to publish results nor do they rely on such published results to generate future business.

1600 is a bit of a bargain for a 3 litre Busso engined luxo cruiser.  The Kappa does, however, have slightly unsatisfying looks, and it is a pity that Lancia's last coupe was not quite in its tradition of fabulous looking coupes.

Chaps,

I agree with others on the LHD issue.

I’ve owned a LHD 815 Flavia Coupe for almost nine years now and it has never posed a problem for me.

I guess it might be different if one were using the car every day in busy urban environments, but if like most of us on here, we only use our old cars infrequently, so it won’t present an issue.

As an aside, even recently I have still come out of a petrol station on a number of occasions and gone to the “wrong” side of the car to get in, which is a little embarrassing !

Bob

I share Gerards view on the Kappa Coupe styling. The low nose is obviously good for aerodynamics but the whole front seems rather pinched, almost as though they had to fit the front from a smaller car. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it's a heck of a car for £1,600.

I on the other hand, like all of it.
Viv la difference, or something like that.
Brian
8227  8)

I would definitely agree about lhd cars in rural lanes and tiny villages full of parked cars in my neck of the woods. I had a lovely Thema 8.32 but sitting on the wrong side in the very corner of a large car it was a real pain through the villages so I sold it. Two guys flew over from Cracow and promptly drove it straight home!