The Lancia coupe will be based around the very well received Fulvia showcar which made such a splash when it debuted at the Frankfurt IAA in the autumn of 2003. The new platform will used sports coupe planned for Alfa Romeo which will arrive in 2010, the year the brand will celebrate its centenary. Also adhering to weight saving principles it is expected to revive the legendary Giulia/Giulietta name. Abarth has investigated the principles of the Lotus Elise closely and it is believed that management have discussed buying the lightweight chassis which uses advanced bonding techniques.

Fiat Group Automobiles is preparing to unleash a trio of niche sports cars in 2010 for its Alfa Romeo, Abarth and Lancia brands, each boasting high performance and light weight characteristics, and all based on dedicated new platforms.

The three sports cars are additions to the outlined FGA product portfolio and are set to be low-volume halo cars that will adhere to each brand's underlying principles. Each one is set to excite fans of the respective brands and will be designed to thrill the driver.

Lancia and Alfa Romeo will each get a sports coupe based on an all new rear wheel drive platform, while Abarth will get a two-seat rear wheel drive sports car, on separate architecture to the former two. All three cars will be launched in 2010 and will break with the current pattern that has seen FGA models getting heavier and heavier.

The Lancia coupe will be based around the very well received Fulvia showcar which made such a splash when it debuted at the Frankfurt IAA in the autumn of 2003. Fiat bosses in the intervening half decade have tried many options to realise this model, even going as far as weighing up basing it on the 'Premium' platform as used by Alfa Romeo's 159 saloon and Brera coupe. However, seven years after it first stunned onlookers at the German motor show it is set to arrive in the showrooms, underpinned by an all new RWD platform, no details of which have emerged yet.

This new platform will be shared by a new-sports coupe planned for Alfa Romeo which will also arrive the same year, 2010, the year the brand will celebrate its centenary. Also adhering to weight saving principles it is expected to revive the legendary Giulia/Giulietta name. There is speculation that the RWD platform could be bought in by Fiat for these two applications.

The third sports car to arrive in the showrooms that year (2010) will be from Abarth. This however will be a rear engined, two seat sports car that will be a direct competitor for the Lotus Elise. Ultra-lightweight, and to be powered by FGA's growing range of small capacity turbocharged engines, it will draw on all Abarth's historical DNA. Prospective Abarth dealers were guaranteed a small sports car when they signed up to the new network and Abarth is on course to remain on this target.

The new Abarth sports car will be assembled by hand at Abarth's ‘Officine 83’ headquarters at Mirafiori, Turin, with the lightweight chassis being built by an outside supplier and shipped in. Abarth has investigated the principles of the Lotus Elise closely and it is believed that management have discussed buying the lightweight chassis which uses advanced bonding techniques.

Lotus has had much success adapting the Elise theme to external clients, having rebodied it for GM's Vauxhall/Opel brands as well as for the innovative electric-powered Tesla sports car. Fiat group has also gained much experience of niche composite chassis manufacturing in its own research divisions, while another option being weighed up would be for ATR to build the chassis. One of the world leaders in lightweight material chassis manufacturing, ATR has built the tubs for supercars such as the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati MC12, Porsche Carrera GT, Lamborghini Murciélago and Bugatti Veyron.