Chrysler has launched their first two re-badged Lancia product in the UK (where the Lancia brand has been defunct for a number of years), with a pair of hatchbacks based on the Lancia Delta and Ypsilon compact and subcompact cars.

The Ypsilon shares a platform with the Fiat 500 and will be available with the 900cc TwinAir two-cylinder turbocharged engine, as well as a 1.2L 4-cylinder and a 1.3L diesel engine. The Delta is about the size of a Ford Focus and can be optioned with either 1.4L, 1.6L or 2.0L engines.

Hit the jump to see the official press release

Gallery: Lancia Delta & Ypsilon

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Fiat will be gradually discontinuing the beautiful Alfa Romeo 159, as reports have indicated that production of the 159 has come to an end at the assembly plant in Naples, Italy. Last minute 159 buyers may have some luck because the vehicle has been stockpiled by dealers ahead of the factory’s temporary closure.

Sadly, the 159 suffered from its edgy front end, making for poor aerodynamics and although the vehicle was built to meet U.S regulations, the vehicle was never sold stateside.

Enthusiasts are complaining that with the absence of the 159, there is a gaping hole left in both Alfa Romeo and Fiat’s line-up. Neither the Alfa Giulietta, Lancia Delta nor the Fiat Bravo can pass as a compact executive car. The 159 is expected to be replaced by the Giulia but won’t hit the road until 2013, and will likely stay that way for another few years. The Naples plant will now produce the Fiat Panda.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 159

[Source: italia speed]

Fulvia. Delta Integrale. Beta Montecarlo. There are some of the storied nameplates a car enthusiast normally associates with the Lancia brand. Now those models will be joined by some less illustrious names, like the Sebring and PT Cruiser if Fiat’s newest scheme comes to fruition.

The parent company of Chrysler is hoping to re-badge those vehicles as Lancias in Continental Europe, something we’re not too sure about. Will anyone who ever bought the other-worldly Thesis be truly satisfied with a 300C, let alone a Sebring? We doubt it, and it’s hard to see why Fiat would want to mess with an established brand like Lancia. Perhaps the new slate of product will be good enough to sell in Lancia showrooms, but the current line-up is distinctly America, with their big displacement engines, hefty dimensions and not-quite-there quality – but then again, nobody ever said the Italians built good cars, just that they engineered them properly.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Chrysler had previously announced that a selection of Fiat-based compact cars was slated to hit the market in early 2012.  But in a sign of rapid progress at Chrysler (or anxiety over the supposed apocalypse), CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a conference call that work on the vehicles is advancing sooner than the company anticipated, and it should appear in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“We’ve run extensive clinics on the first vehicles. We’re 98 percent there on styling,” Marchionne said to Automotive News. “My expectation today is we’ll be able to get this car into the market Q4 2011. We continue to work pretty aggressively on timing.” Marchionne also said that improved versions of the much-maligned Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger are slated to bow around the same time.

Chrysler showed a re-badged version of the European market Lancia Delta at the 2010 Detroit Autoshow, but there’s no official word on whether this product is slated to come to North America.

Gallery: Chrysler/Lancia Delta

[Source: Automotive News]

With little more than a new grille and badging, Chrysler is displaying a possible future hatchback model at the Detroit Auto Show. With little else new other than some facelifted models for 2010, the unnamed Chrysler hatch stays true to the premium outlook that the Fiat-controlled company has for the brand. The large five-door hatch is sold in Europe under Fiat’s Lancia brand as the Delta.

The European model is relatively new overseas, having launched at the Geneva Auto Show back in 2008. Several engines are offered in Europe, including a 120-hp 1.6-liter 4-cylinder, a 163-hp 2.0-liter 4-cylinder and a twin-turbo 1.9-liter with 190-hp.

If it does in fact launch in North America, the yet unnamed Chrysler hatch is likely to get Chrysler’s upcoming revised 2.4-liter 4-cylinder World Engine, which gets Fiat’s variable valve Multiair technology to produce 190-hp and 175 ft-lbs of torque. Compared to the old 2.4-liter, Chrysler says this new engine not only delivers improved power, but fuel economy as well.

GALLERY: Chrysler Premium Hatchback based on Lancia Delta

***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here***

Contrary to previous reports that Chrysler will not present any new models at the Detroit Auto Show in just a few weeks, there is now word that the struggling U.S. automaker will show a new car based on a Lancia platform. The Lancia badge is a sub-brand under Fiat, which now runs Chrysler.

There is no word on what sort of a vehicle it will be, but Fiat is eager to help Chrysler where it needs help most – in the small and mid-size car market. This new model would be the first idea of how Fiat intends to integrate its European designs into the North American marketplace.

Previous reports have suggested the first new Lancia-based Chrysler model would be a premium hatchback, something along the lines of the Delta (above).

Fiat’s larger plan for Chrysler will have it closely integrated with Lancia, the two brands sharing platforms. Fiat has said Chrysler will revamp or replace all of its models over the next few years, adding four new Fiat based products by the end of 2010.

AutoGuide’s live coverage of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show starts January 11th.

GALLERY: Lancia Delta

[Source: Bloomberg]