Lancia Thema 6V — the only Italian with a PRV V6 (ZN3J, 147-150 bhp)

Engines

One code only: ZN3J, the 505's

The ZN3J is Peugeot's electronically injected 2.8-litre: 170 bhp in the 505 V6 and the civilian P4 V6, 147 to 150 bhp in the Thema 6V. Lancia never struck a code of its own — PRV codes are only ever Peugeot, Renault or Volvo — and the ZN3J had the widest career of all Peugeot codes, up to its 2,975 cc bored-out version, the ZN3J3 of the Dakar assistance P4s.

Lancia Thema 6V The ZN3J in Italy Every known code →

ZN3J147–150 bhp

2,849 ccElectronic injection12 valvesZN3J engine file →

Thema 6V — the Douvrin V6 in the Turin saloon; 170 bhp under the same code in the Peugeot 505. No Thema workshop sheet is in the Library yet.

Four sisters, one PRV

164, Croma, 9000 — and the Thema

The Thema shares its platform with the Alfa Romeo 164, the Fiat Croma and the Saab 9000; it is the only one of the four to receive the Douvrin V6. It is also one of the two cases where the PRV leaves the founding trio's orbit in Europe, with the Talbot Tagora — before the three Americans, DeLorean, Eagle and Dodge.

The ZN3J and its relatives — ZM, ZMJ, ZNJ, ZPJ — are detailed code by code on the Engines page; the cousin of the sands, the ZN3J3, is told in the P4 Dakar section.

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THE ONLY ITALIAN AMONG THE PRV MAKES

2849

CC

150

BHP

170

BHP · THE SAME ZN3J IN THE 505

The ZN3J

The Peugeot code that travelled the most

The 505 V6, the source

The Peugeot 505 V6 carries the 170 bhp LH-Jetronic ZN3J — the most powerful of the first three PRV Peugeots, after the 504 Coupé and Cabriolet and the 604.

The P4, from civilian to Dakar

Around 1991–1992, a civilian series of about fifteen Peugeot P4s received the 170 bhp ZN3J; from 1987, Peugeot Talbot Sport fitted its Dakar fast-assistance P4s with a ZN3J bored out to 2,975 cc — the ZN3J3, about 220 bhp.

No document, for now

No document specific to the Thema 6V is in the Library yet — if you own one, the Contribute page awaits you. A Lancia workshop sheet would at last say whether 147 or 150 bhp is right.

In the workshop

What the FAQ says about the Thema 6V

The FAQ answers that concern the Thema and its engine — pending a period workshop sheet.

Lancia Thema 6V The full FAQ →

Thema

Does the Lancia Thema have a PRV V6?
Yes, the Thema 6V: the 147-150 bhp ZN3J — the only Italian among the eleven PRV marques. Tagora & Thema file →

505

What engine powers the Peugeot 505 V6?
The 2,849 cc LH-Jetronic ZN3J, 170 bhp — the same code as the Lancia Thema 6V's.

Injection

Which cars have a PRV V6 with electronic injection?
The norm from the 1980s onwards — some twenty models: Peugeot 505 V6, 605 and civilian P4, Renault 25 (atmo and Turbo), Safrane, Laguna, Espace, Volvo 760 and 780, Alpine GTA Turbo, GTA Le Mans and A610, the three Venturis, Citroën XM, Lancia Thema 6V, Dodge Monaco, Eagle Medallion and Premier. All vehicles →

Codes

Did Alpine, DeLorean, Lancia or Eagle have PRV engine codes of their own?
No. Every PRV V6 carries a code from one of the three partners: the Douvrin Z-codes at Renault (Z6V, Z7V, Z7U, Z7W, Z7X) and at Peugeot — shared with Citroën within PSA (ZM, ZMJ, ZNJ, ZN3J, ZPJ, ZPJ4) — and the B-codes at Volvo (B27, B28, B280). The other marques bought the engine as it was: Alpine under Renault codes (Z7U in the GTA Turbo, Z7X 744 in the A610), DeLorean under the Peugeot ZMJ (ZMJ-159 variant), Eagle and Dodge under the Z7X (711 and 715), Lancia under the ZN3J, Venturi under Z7U, Z7W and ZPJ4 units prepared by EIA. No carmaker ever struck a PRV code in its own name. Every known code →

Tagora

Does the Talbot Tagora have a PRV V6?
Yes: a 166 bhp carburetted 2,664 cc — the most powerful 2.7-litre version in a road car. Tagora & Thema file →

P4

Did the Peugeot P4 exist with a PRV V6?
Yes — in a very limited civilian series of around fifteen examples, produced around 1991–1992 by FAM. These P4s were fitted with the ZN3J, the 2.8-litre fuel-injected PRV V6 of the Peugeot 505 (170 bhp). They are among the rarest PRV-powered vehicles in existence. Separately, Peugeot Talbot Sport used a bored-out version — the ZN3J3 (2,975 cc, ≈ 220 bhp) — as a rapid-assistance vehicle at the Dakar rally from 1987. P4 V6 file → · P4 Dakar section →

Dakar

Did the PRV V6 compete in the Paris-Dakar?
Not as a competition car, but as a rapid-assistance vehicle. From 1987, Peugeot Talbot Sport (PTS) fitted Peugeot P4 4×4s with a bored-out PRV — the ZN3J3 (2,975 cc, lightened flywheel, reworked camshafts, specific mapping, ≈ 220 bhp) — to support the 205 T16 and 405 Turbo 16 entries. Citroën Sport continued the practice into the 1990s for its own Dakar campaigns. Around twenty units were built in total. P4 Dakar section →

In the Library

No document specific to the Thema 6V is in the Library yet — if you own one, the Contribute page awaits you.

On the forum

The Thema has its own section on the forum — presentations, restorations, questions to members who drive one. Lancia Thema section →

Lancia Thema 6V —the only Italian