Lancia Stratos

The Lancia Stratos was launched in 1973 to follow in the footsteps of the Fulvia 1600 HF in rally racing. In the decade that followed, this ultra-modern car remained virtually invincible and caused unprecedented upheaval in the discipline, thanks to drivers such as Sandro Munari and Bernard Darniche. Sadly, this fabulous vehicle arrived in the midst of the global oil crisis, and despite its exceptional track record, it failed to achieve the commercial success it deserved.

Visitors to the 1970 Turin Motor Show needed a great deal of imagination in order to catch a glimpse of the Stratos concept car presented on the stand of coachbuilder Bertone, the car that was to dominate international rallies for the next ten years. Yet the pure lines of what was then just a design study immediately appealed to Cesare Fiorio, the head of Lancia Squadra Corsa, the Milanese manufacturer's competition department. Fiorio saw it as the future replacement for the courageous Fulvia HF and, at his instigation, the Stratos soon moved from the cosy carpets of living rooms to successfully face the mud and snow of the Monte Carlo Rally and the dusty tracks of the Acropolis Rally.

TO REPLACE THE FULVIA HF 

At the following Turin Motor Show, in November 1971, the new Stratos presented by Bertone had little in common with the prototype now known as "Zero", apart from the general layout of the mechanics. The acronym HF was added to the name, indicating Lancia's official involvement in production following the agreement signed in February 1971. Initially, 400 examples were to be built in the year following its presentation in order to be homologated by the FIA in Group 4 (Special Grand Touring Cars), the top category in international rallying at the time. This was achieved on 1 October 1974, and explains why the Stratos's first victory, in the 1973 Tour de France Auto (Sandro Munari), was in the Prototype category.

Between 1974 and 1976, 491 units of the Stratos were officially produced, of which, according to factory records, 147 were built at Bertone's Grugliasco plant. Information about the rest of the production run remains unclear, since many of the cars were assembled, often individually and on an ad hoc basis, at the Lancia plant in Chivasso or at the Service Course workshop in Via Caraglio, Turin. The Lancia Stratos was replaced by the Fiat 131 in December 1978, as the group's spearhead in the World Rally Championship.

A MODEL OF EFFICIENCY 

For this extraordinary machine, everything was sacrificed in favour of performance. In fact, it was a radical, innovative car that was regarded as the driving force in the introduction of Group B racing cars in the early 1980s. The Stratos was designed primarily for racing, and particularly for rallying. It was extremely compact (3.71 m long!), with front and rear cantilevers reduced to a strict minimum. The chassis consisted of a self-supporting monocoque central cell made from pressed, folded and boxed sheet steel. It was extended by spars at the front to support the suspension and a tubular cradle at the rear to house the Ferrari-supplied engine and gearbox unit. The bodywork featured two large front and rear covers, integrating the wings and fully tipping over to allow maximum access to the powertrain. These elements, like the doors, were made from polyester resin and fibreglass to save weight.

THE DINO'S ENGINE 

Development of the Stratos was supervised by Giovanni Tonti, Technical Director of the Racing Department, assisted by a team led by Sergio Camuffo and composed of engineers Francesco De Virgilio, Francesco Faleo and Nicola Materazzi. Gianpaolo Dallara, the brilliant chassis designer of the Lamborghini Miura and De Tomaso Pantera, was responsible for the rear central layout of the Ferrari V6 engine and transmission. At the same time, drivers Claudio Maglioli and Michael Parkes were responsible for testing. Right from the start of the project, Lancia Managing Director Pierrugo Gobbato, with the help of Enzo Ferrari, battled with Fiat management in order to obtain the engine of the Dino 246 GT. In December 1972, Fiat gave the go-ahead for 500 units to be produced. The V6 engine was flexible, easy to use and extremely robust, to the extent that it could easily cope with the 380 bhp of the turbocharged version used in Group 5. The Stradale version produced 190 bhp with maximum torque of 23 mkg at 4,000 rpm, while the racing version delivered between 230 and 280 bhp depending on the configuration.