After the 1969 Fiat takeover there was urgent need for a model that could be made and sold profitably to help Lancia back on its feet. The Beta was of an entirely new design and used many components from Fiat, including the engine and gearbox that were mounted transversely, driving the front wheels. It was a modern fast-back four-door saloon and for its name Lancia went back to the beginning, using letters from the Greek alphabet as it did from 1906 till the early 1930s. To avoid confusion the A (Alfa) was skipped and the B was chosen, Beta..

The use of Fiat components and poor build quality have given rise to the belief that it is not a ‘true’ Lancia, but the Beta was highly acclaimed by the press when it appeared in 1972 because of its technical specifications, performance and packaging. And it certainly was a good car to drive.
Attractive alternative body styles were soon offered, such as the Coupé, the HPE Estate, the Spider designed by Pininfarina but built by Zagato, and the mid-engined Montecarlo (Scorpion in the USA).

While the new Thema was in the pipeline a restyle of the Beta Berlina with a separate boot was introduced, named Trevi (for ‘three volumes’ – nothing to do with that fountain in Rome!). A very special offer at that time was the Volumex, with a Roots supercharger fitted to the two-litre engine giving much improved torque and acceleration.

The Beta range offers some attractive designs, but it lacks the traditional Lancia quality. The unfortunate reputation for rust was mostly a problem of the first years, later ones were much better, and rust was a typical problem of many cars in the 1970s.