Personal import specialist...

Personal import specialist ECU, of Greenford, Middlesex, had hoped to make the Ypsilon supermini and Thesis V6 executive saloon stars of Motorexpo, which runs at London"s Canary Wharf until 20 June. However, the transporter bringing the left-hand-drive models from Belgium was involved in a road crash which left both cars "completely mullered", according to ECU"s Dan Shepherd.

Lancias were last sold officially in the UK in 1994, when production of all right-hand-drive models ended after slow sales. "It was a decision of the head, not the heart," said a spokesman for parent company Fiat, who reiterated that there is no plan to re-launch Lancia in Britain. But ECU insists there is demand for the likes of the Ypsilon, Thesis and new Musa mini-MPV, claiming it has sold six LHD Thesis models. "They have a following here," said Shepherd. "The cars haven"t all gone to Italians - although most of our customers are members of the Lancia Motor Club."