Having elected to miss the last edition of the Amsterdam Motor Show, held two years ago, last week Lancia were back at AutoRAI 2007 in style with a full line-up of their models, led out by the new Ypsilon.

Emphasising the importance of the new Ypsilon model, which was first unveiled in public at the Paris Motor Show last September, one example dominates the stand, mounted on a raised platform in the centre of the cluster of Lancia cars. A second Ypsilon is available for close-up inspection and is finished in Lancia's now-familiar "bi-colore" paint scheme. There was no presence though from the new and more powerful Ypsilon Sport by MomoDesign which was unveiled last month in Geneva.

The Ypsilon model currently dominates Lancia's sales across Europe and the facelifted model has started to sell very strongly in Italy since the turn of the year, helping to strengthen the brand's year-on-year market share. The changes wrought by Lancia Centro Stile are quite discreet, with the brief being to carefully enhance is very well-respected design language. Exterior changes include new headlights and spoiler at the front with matching amendments at the rear, while inside there is new, much brighter and slightly cheeky finish to the seats and panels.

In The Netherlands, where there is an emphatic niche for small and stylish cars, Lancia has high hopes for the new version's market success. AutoRAI 2007 is held over 12 days (it closes on 9th April) and more than half a million visitors are expected. Shifting its date back to the end of March means that a host of new debuts from Geneva can be show and these include Fiat's Stilo replacement, the Bravo, Mercedes' new C-Class sedan, Peugeot entrant to the SUV category, the 4007 and Maserati's stylish new GranTurismo sports car.
 

The new Ypsilon, on the occasion of its Dutch motor show debut, is joined on the compact stand by the remainder of the range: the Musa 'mini MPV', Phedra large people carrier and the Thesis luxury sedan. The Musa on show is the second Lancia at the RAI to be presented in a 'bi-colore' finish.

The Phedra meanwhile is a "Limited Edition 2007" model; this is even more luxurious and highly specified version of the people carrier, and as well as an array of features designed to optimise comfort and safety on-board, it seeks to turn the vehicle into - in Lancia's words - a 'virtual multimedia centre' with an infotelematic package that includes flat TV screens incorporated into the back of each of the front seat swabs. The Phedra Limited Edition 2007 also features a full-length, triple section-opening sunroof.

The range of cars on display are complemented on the stand by the Lancia Café, a recent initiative from the brand that seeks to provide an upmarket and stylish continental café ambience to the Lancia theme. Enclosed in its own decaled glass walls, the Lancia Café at the RAI has a bar with waitresses serving cocktails and a dedicated seating area within the enclosure in which to relax.