A contribution by Matthias Zabel from Hamburg, Germany
Basically the Monte Carlo is not a Lancia but a Fiat. In the early 1970s, Fiat started the development of this car.
It was planned to be a bigger brother to the X 1/9 and was supposed to be called X 1/20. The technical layout is similar
to the X 1/9, being a mid-engined sports car with a two litres 4 cylinder. The design was done by Pininfarina. At the beginning
of the oil crisis, Fiat handed the project over to Lancia where the development was finished. Few Lancia parts were used. Two series were built.
The first series was quite successful in rally championships. In the US, the car was sold as Lancia Scorpio (the Monte Carlo name was owned by Chevrolet).