The Lancia Megagamma is a small, almost one-box,

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...

MPV, designed by

Italdesign Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best kno ...

and introduced at the 1978 Turin Motor Show. In retrospect the Megagamma was more influential on later designs than it was itself successful, becoming the "conceptual birth mother of the MPV/minivan movement." Featuring high seating

h-point The H-point (or hip-point) is the theoretical, relative location of an occupant's hip: specifically the pivot point between the torso and upper leg portions of the body — as used in vehicle design, automotive design and vehicle regulation a ...

s measured both off the vehicle floor as well as the pavement and a 0.34 coefficient of drag, the Megagamma used a

front engine In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used reg ...

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...

layout based on the

Lancia Gamma The Lancia Gamma (Tipo 830) is an executive car (E-segment in Europe) manufactured and marketed by the Lancia subdivision of Fiat. Following its debut at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show as Lancia's new flagship, the Gamma was marketed as 4-door f ...

platform with a Lancia

SOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

2.5 litre

flat-4 A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...

engine and Bosch

L-Jetronic Jetronic is a trade name of a manifold injection technology for automotive petrol engines, developed and marketed by Robert Bosch GmbH from the 1960s onwards. Bosch licensed the concept to many automobile manufacturers. There are several variation ...

fuel injection. Italdesign showed an enduring commitment to exploring one-box designs, having preceded the Megagamma with the 1976

Alfa Romeo New York Taxi The Alfa Romeo New York Taxi is a concept car that was designed by Italdesign in 1976 at the invitation of the New York Museum of Modern Art. The concept was designed to guidelines from the museum aimed at producing a cleaner, more efficient taxi. ...

concept and followed the Megagamma with the 1982 Capsula, 2000 Maserati Buron and 2010 Proton Emas. The Megagamma itself presaged many attributes of the modern MPVs — notably a roomy but compact, flexible cabin with a flat floor not unlike such notable antecedents as the

Volkswagen Type 2 The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the Ge ...

(1950) and the

DKW Schnellaster The DKW Schnellaster, also known as the DKW F89 L, was a van produced by DKW from 1949 to 1962. Alongside the DKW F89 passenger car, it was the first vehicle to be manufactured by the new Auto Union conglomerate in Ingolstadt following the re-es ...

(1949-1962) and such notable succeeding mini/compact MPV's as the

Nissan Prairie The is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1981 to 2004. Considered a mini MPV or a compact MPV. It was also marketed as the Multi in Canada and the Stanza Wagon in the United States. In Japan, it was exclusive to '' Nissan Blue ...

(1981),

Fiat 500L The Fiat 500L is a car manufactured by Fiat under the FCA Serbia joint venture and marketed globally since its debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. It is classified as a Mini MPV. Based on a variant of the GM Fiat Small platform, ''FCA Sma ...

(2011) and

Mitsubishi Chariot The Mitsubishi Chariot is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Mitsubishi from 1983 to 2003. It is a small multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). Based on the SSW concept car first exhibited at the 23rd Tokyo Motor Show in 1979, the MPV derives its n ...

(1983) — as well as a wide array of similarly-sized and larger MPV's including the

Renault Espace The Renault Espace is a five-door car manufactured by the French carmaker Renault since 1984 for five generations. It is classified as a large MPV/minivan within the M-segment. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first co ...

, Honda Shuttle and

Chrysler Minivans The Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that have been produced and marketed by the American automaker Chrysler since the 1984 model year. Currently in its sixth generation, the model line is marketed worldwide, primarily in North Americ ...

. At the time of its debut, Lancia's parent company, Fiat, viewed the concept as too risky and it did not reach production. However the tall, box-like styling language of the concept would appear again in Giugiaro's later supermini designs for Fiat in the form of the

Panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...

(1980) and Uno (1983).

References

{{Lancia Megagamma Italdesign concept vehicles Compact MPVs 1970s cars Cars introduced in 1978 Front-wheel-drive vehicles Cars powered by boxer engines Italdesign Giugiaro

See also

References