The Lancia Monte Carlo was a mid-engined sports car sold in the 1970s. A low-power version, the Scorpion, was sold in the United States at the same time. Spider versions of the Montecarlo featured a unique roll-back manually operated targa style convertible top.
Based on the prototype Abarth 030, the car was known as the X1/8 (later the X1/20) while in development, and was intended to be a Fiat-branded 'big brother' to the Fiat X1/9. It had a similar mid-engined layout, with a larger engine and roomier interior.
The car was passed to Lancia, and was constructed by Pininfarina, the original design company, in Turin, Italy. Production lasted from 1975 through 1979 for the first series(S1), with a second version(S2) launched in 1980. Production of the Monte Carlo ended in 1981.
[] Lancia Scorpion
The American market Lancia Scorpion was sold in 1976 and 1977, and was modified to meet American emissions, lighting and crash test requirements. The car is so called because the name Monte Carlo was already used in America by Chevrolet.
The Scorpion differed from the Monte Carlo in a number of ways. It had a smaller engine (1756 cc) because the 1995 cc unit in the Monte Carlo did not pass U.S. emissions standards yet. Between the decrease in engine size and the addition of smog equipment, the Scorpion came with 81 HP (vs. 120 in the Montecarlo). The Scorpion had different bumpers to meet American crash tests. The Scorpion had semi pop-up headlights and the 1976s had solid rear buttresses (Monte Carlos had glass inserts except for very early models). All Scorpions featured the convertible top. Unlike the Monte Carlo, only one production run of Scorpions was made. A total of 1,801 were manufactured in 1976 and sold as model year 1976 and 1977(1396 and 405 respectively).
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