With Lancia set to return to Irish showrooms by 2008, the Italian marque used this week's Venice Film Festival to unveil its new version of the Delta - the first car to go on sale here under the Lancia logo.
Although it was revealed yesterday evening as a concept, insiders suggest the car is virtually identical to the final production version that will be built in both left- and right-hand drive. Lancia claims the new car is an update on the 1970s Beta version.
The new Delta is the first fully-fledged car design to come from Fiat's new design director Frank Stephenson, whose previous work includes various Ferraris and Maseratis when design director of that branch of the Fiat empire.
He is also acclaimed for designing BMW's highly successful retake of the MINI and their strong selling X5 SUV.
The new car measures in at 4.5 metres long, 1.8 metres wide and 1.5 metres tall with a wheelbase of 2700 mm and a versatile luggage compartment of over 400 litres.
The Delta concept car is designed to be equipped with a wide selection of petrol and diesel engines, all turbocharged and combined with 6 speed manual and robotised gearboxes with power ratings ranging from 120 bhp to over 200 bhp.
The Italian brand - owned by Fiat - announced in November that it was considering right-hand-drive models, but it has since confirmed plans for a return date of 2008 to right-hand markets including Britain and Ireland.
The new Delta will be the first car to reach our shores, but this will quickly be followed by right-hand versions of every future model developed.