Lancia Aurelia concept to debut in Geneva next year

Lancia’s new Delta officially went on sale today but the stylish hatch is just the first of a host of new upmarket models designed to position Lancia as a premium brand under the Fiat umbrella. Lancia is expected to launch a new flagship cabrio in 2010 and according to new reports a concept version will be revealed at next year’s Geneva Motor Show in March.

Likely to revive the Aurelia badge, Lancia will build a new cabrio to rival cars like the Jaguar XK and Lexus SC430 in both performance and price. Rumored to share its underpinnings with the Maserati Granturismo, or possibly even Ferrari’s new California, the new cabrio will feature a V8 powertrain and RWD layout.

Speaking with AutoTelegraaf, a spokesman for Fiat revealed that at least one new Lancia model will be released every year between now and 2012 with management hoping to sell up to 300,000 vehicles annually by that time.

Pictured above is the 2003 Fulvia concept, which was designed as a preview for an affordable coupe-cabrio from Lancia but never received the green light for production.