One of 11 built. Introduced mid 1979, run until 1982, for Group 5, same as the Porsche 935 and BMW Bat-mobile. It preserves some (doors, roof) but not much (fenders and overhangs) of the Beta Montecarlo coupe's shape and dimensions. Same engine block, new head, 1.4 litres, so a 2.0 by turbo equivalency formula. Over 400 HP with the turbo supercharger

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Lancia's Beta was a family introduced after the merger with Fiat. The transverse FWD package with a twin cam engine was offered as a 1972 model. It provided motivation for a sedan, coupe and Berlina (4 door hatch back), even a 2 seat convertable. The Montecarlo (one word, making it different from the Principality which is "Monte Carlo") was among the first, mid-engine-repackage-of-a-Front-Wheel-Drive-platform, after the basic FWD cars were established. The Fiat X1/9 came first, the Renault 5 Turbo was great, Pontiac's Fiero, later, had its own, significant, problems, but Toyota's MR2 had a 20 year run in 3 generations, and bids fair to return in 2020.

The Beta's design was fair enough, but poor (said to be Soviet origin) steel that was specified too thin and poorly protected from rust at Fiat's factories led to reliability and warranty nightmares. Fiat pulled everything out of the USA and Canada for a generation, and only Fiat and Alfa have come back. With (presumably) larger market share, the UK story was probably worse, though proximity might have led to quicker recovery.

The Monecarlo Turbo's Class wins among the 2.0 litres crowd led to bigger dreams. A Group 6 prototype ((like a 936) was schemed but FAI replaced Group 4-5-6-7 which had become a Porsche playground, with Group "B" for rally and Group "C" for GT. So the putative Group 6 car ran, as an open spyder, for one year, as the "LC1", replacing the Montecarlo Turbo. The LC2, that followed had a V8 from the Ferrari 308, and the closed body with tall windscreen dictated by Group C rules. Not street cars, but easy enough on the eyes. The LC-2's 3.0 V8 was stroked down to 2.65 litres in case anyone wanted an Indianapolis turbo.

The original Beta Montecarlo was sold as 1975-1978, road cars, then restarted as just "Montecarlo" in 1980-81. It would also spawn the Group B "037" rally car, 1982-1986, which had the engine fore and aft and a mechanical supercharger, rather than the Montecarlo (North America: Scorpion) street car's transverse layout. The 037 was an outright winner, the last rear-wheel-drive World Rally Championship winner. No-one has won it without four wheel drive since.