After more than a dozen years on sale, Lancia is finally getting ready to replace its compact Ypsilon hatchback with a brand new generation based on the Opel Corsa. The new hatch was previewed earlier this year by the rad Pu+Ra concept, and now the production Ypsilon has leaked in more ways than one after a prototype was crashed into a river in France.
Details about the incident are few. As reported by L’Est Républicain, early this morning in Montbéliard, France, firefighters were called to the scene when a submerged vehicle was spotted in a canal along Rue du Port near Stellantis’ factory. The firefighters carried out a search for potential victims and other wreckage; when nothing else was found, the car was hoisted out of the river by a crane. While the little white hatchback was presumed to be stolen, the police allegedly wouldn’t comment on what happened.
Now, it’s not exactly uncommon for cars to be stolen and crashed into rivers, buildings, other cars, etc., but the stolen vehicle in question being an uncamouflaged prototype of a car we haven’t seen the design of yet is extremely funny. What’s even funnier are the photos, which were snapped from across the river and show water pouring out of the Ypsilon’s open tailgate and other body panels. In addition to just making us laugh, these shots give us a pretty great look at the design of the new Ypsilon.
It’s obvious from the overall body shape, doors and greenhouse that the Ypsilon is based on the Corsa, but Lancia’s designers have done a great job at differentiating the model. The front end has a Y-shaped trim piece at the front of the nose that’s flanked by large round headlights, similar to that of the PU+RA concept, and round taillights protrude from the rear fenders and feature Y-shaped elements. Unlike the Corsa, the Ypsilon’s rear door handle is hidden in the C-pillar, which is finished in black to give the car a floating roof design. Just behind the handle is a large Lancia crest badge, and the tailgate has the Lancia name spelled out in blocky letters. Cool six-spoke wheels continue the Y design theme.
We can’t see the interior from these photos, but recent spy shots have shown that the Ypsilon will have a large disc-shaped center console protruding from the dash and sitting just under a wide central touchscreen. Other cool elements include suede seat centers with geometric lines and the Lancia script on the headrest, bronze accents and more circle motifs on the door panels.
The new Ypsilon should be unveiled in just a couple months before going on sale in Europe in the summer. It will be followed by an electric Gamma crossover in 2026 and a reborn Delta EV in 2028.