Elliot Levy will have his Lancia Stratos replica on display in the PistonHeads Show display area.

Nico Alonzi will his Lancia Stratos replica on display on the Lancia Club stand. This is the Stratos that “The Stig could not tame”.

An original Lancia Stratos will be thrashed around the Live Arena by former British Rally Champion, Mark Higgins.

Pictures and Video will follow soon.

…. but it was staged!!

What would a realistic time for a Stratos really be?

Have your say ……

Top Gear Power Lap Times – what should a Stratos really do?

Recently he entered the Costa Brava Rally and won decisively.

Based around the Spanish town of Lloret de Mar, Walter competed in the FIA European Rally Championship for Historical Cars together with co-driver Peter Göbel.

The two-times World Rally Champion drove a 1981 Porsche 911 RSR under difficult weather and track conditions, and in so doing Röhrl clearly demonstrated his unique driving skills as a four-times Monte Carlo winner.

The race also featured ex-Renault works driver Jean Ragnotti in an Alpine A110, together with several other competitors driving Porsche 911s plus three Group 4 Lancia Stratos.

Röhrl and Göbel in their Porsche 911 RSR dominated the race, bringing home an historical victory for Wolfgang Reile’s Classic Power Team in the very special style of the truly outstanding driver who also won the European Rally Championship in 1974.

Also competing in the event was Sandro Munari, driving a Group 4 Lancia Stratos, one of 3 entered into the event, but Munari in the Stratos was unable to match the pace of Rohrl in the Porsche.

Here are some images of Munari in the Lancia.

The sound of the Lancia Stratos is very unique, and enthusiasts worldwide will enjoy watching this Stratos video.

Lancia Stratos – History

The original inspiration for the Lancia Stratos was the 1970 Turin Show Car, produced by coachbuilders Bertone for Lancia

The futuristic, and radical, styling was the result of extensive wind tunnel testing to achieve the minimum possible coefficient of wind resistance, and produced a vehicle which looked more like something from a Sci-Fi movie than a realistic supercar. In fact, the name Stratos is reputed to be given because one of the designers thought the car looked like something which had come from the Stratosphere!!

As shown in the drawing below, the driver was positioned towards the front of the car in a reclining position, similar to a Formula One driving position. Access to the car was by a door which also contained the front windscreen. This lifted at the front of the car, and pivoted the roofline. The driver and passenger had to step down into the car through this aperture. To assist access, the steering wheel retracted when the door was opened. Once seated, the driver pulls the steering wheel towards himself, and a hydraulic system automatically closes the door/windscreen.

The 1.6litre Lancia engine was placed in a mid-mounted position just ahead of transaxle, with just enough space between driver and engine for the radiator, air intakes, and a spare wheel.

The show car was a monocoque and tubular concept, built from a combination of sheet metal for the centre section, and reinforced fibreglass for the doors, front and rear hatches, and body skin. The engine and rear suspension were mounted in a steel substructure.

The very low wind coefficient was achieved by a very smooth exterior, with a sharp leading edge-type nose housing retractable headlights.

The Team Manager for Lancia at the time was Cesare Fiorio. His team of Lancia Fulvias had been used with great success in international rallying since 1966, but they were coming under increasing pressure from other manufacturers, such as Porsche and
Alpine-Renault.

The sight of the Stratos prototype captured Fiorio’s imagination. He visualised the prototype being developed into a new competition car for Lancia – the Stratos. It is unlikely he could possibly have realised how dramatic an impact his dream would have on the sport.

Until then, rallying had been dominated by sports cars, but production sports cars which had first and foremost been developed for sale to the public. No-one had ever considered producing a car with the sole aim of using it in competition.

Rallying rules decreed that a minimum of 500 cars must be produced to allow a car to be homologated and used in international rallies (although during the Stratos development period this was reduced from 500 to 400). The F.I.A., the governing body of the sport, felt that this number was so high that it would discourage any manufacturer from producing a car just for competition purposes.

The Stratos became the first “homolgation special”. A concept that would eventually lead to the ill-fated Group B rally cars of the 80s, which would become outlawed in the sport as too fast and too dangerous.

With his visualisation of a mid-engined sports car, and a blank sheet of paper, no constraints about having to sell the car to the public, Fiorio could re-design the prototype’s concept into a pure competition car.

Clearly, it needed a powerful engine.

Lancia were currently using the 1.6litre V4 engine, and Abarth had produced a 2litre version. BUT, Lancia were owned by Fiat, who just happened to have a sizeable financial stake in Ferrari. AND, the man chosen to head up Lancia as a new division of Fiat was Pierre Ugo Gobatto, WHO had just previously been Fiat’s representative in the Ferrari management, and knew that the Ferrari Dino 246 was about to be phased out, which might mean there would be a load of Ferrari engines lying around!!!

If the Dino had not been planned to be phased out, Enzo Ferrari might have considered the Stratos a direct threat to the Ferrari Dino 246, and  the Stratos might have been still-born, or possibly endowed with a lower power unit, and never have become the rallying legend of the 70s.

Gianpaolo Dallara, the famous ex-technical director of Lamborghini, who had created the Miura and Espada models, and Marcello Gandini, Bertone’s chief stylist, worked with Fiorio to mould the original prototype into a viable competition car. The first prototype was readied to appear at Turin in November 1971, but it was still incomplete, and it would be well into 1972 before road testing would commence.

By the Turin Show of 1972, the revised Stratos, shown below, was fitted with a Ferrari V6 2.4Litre 12valve engine, and five speed gearbox.

During the next year, the specification was further refined.

Throughout this period, the car was entered into rallies which had a class for prototypes, and this provided even more feedback to help develop the final specification.

In the autumn of 1972, Sandro Munari and Mario Mannucci started the Tour De Corse in the second Stratos ever built. The car retired with rear suspension failure, and the same problem was to occur again on the Costa Del Sol rally only a month later.

In April 1973, Sandro Munari won the Firestone Rally in Spain to give the car its first success. Just one month later, partnered with Jean-Claude Andruet, Munari took the Stratos to an excellent second place on the Targa-Florio, and in September 1973, the car won another event. This time it was the Tour de France, and again it was Sandro Munari who piloted the Stratos to an excellent victory.

Proper production had commenced during 1973, moved into full swing by mid-1974. The bodyshells were produced at Bertone’s Grugliasco plant in the suburbs of Turin, and final assembly at the nearby Lancia plant.

There have been many discussions over the years as to exactly how many cars were actually completed. Many experts claim between 450 and 490 cars were actually produced, with 492 being a number which is often quoted, but Bertone themselves claim that 502 cars actually made it through production.

At the beginning of development, the Group 4 rules for rallying had required production of 500 units for homolgation. However, by the time the Stratos was finally homologated on October 1st, 1974, the rules had been changed to reduce the homologation requirement to 400.

The final production version, shown below, had changed in certain areas. Note the horizontal slots on the bonnet compared to the previous vertical slots.

(Photo courtesy of Neill Bruce – Photo © Neill Bruce)

During 1974, the victories for the Stratos were coming thick and fast. Prior to homologation, the Stratos had won the Tour of Sicily and Targa
Florio, running in the prototype class, and within days of achieving homologation, Sandro Munari had given the car victory on the San Remo. This was followed by victories on Giro d’Italia, Rideau Lakes, and the Tour de Corse, and a third place on the British RAC Rally.

This was sufficient to give Lancia the 1974 World Championship. A feat which was to be repeated in both 1975 and 1976.

In January 1975, Sandro Munari scored the first of three successive victories in the Monte Carlo Rally. During the year, Bjorn Waldergaard took wins in the Swedish and San Remo rallies, and, on the Safari, Munari took second place with Waldergaard in third.

Again, the Stratos was unable to win on the British RAC Rally. However, driven by Bjorn Waldergaard, it left a lasting impression on British rally fans during this event. After a good start, the car had broken a driveshaft, and the mechanics had removed the rear bodywork of the car to assist access while making the repairs. Waldergaard then continued in the event, and set fastest time on 40 out of the 72 stages, but was excluded at the end of the event for running on the public road with no rear lights, rear indicators and number plate!!!!

1976 was the most successful year for the Stratos. It won Lancia the World Championship for the third successive season, and, in doing so, took first and second places in the Monte Carlo rally, a remarkable first, second, third, and fourth in Portugal, first in Sicily, first in the Giro d’Italia, first in Corsica, and fourth in Britain.

Not only were the Lancia works cars winning, but the car had reached the hands of private teams. One of the most sucessful of these private teams was Chardonnet of France. Their star driver was Bernard Darniche, who would continue winning with the car long after the factory works team had ceased rallying the Stratos. In fact, Darniche should be considered the most successful Stratos driver of all time, with 33 victories to his name, compared to 13 for works driver Sandro Munari.

In Britain, a car was campaigned by Graham Warner’s Chequered Flag team, and driven by drivers such as Per-Inge Walfridsson, Billy Coleman, Cahal Curley, Tony Pond, and Andy Dawson. Sadly the team were to suffer many misfortunes, including a fire which completely gutted the car during the Welsh Rally, although the car did win the Mintex Dales International Rally at the hands of Andy Dawson.

In 1977, the Lancia factory competitions team was merged with the Fiat team, and the Fiat Group’s marketing requirements saw effort being put into the Fiat 131 rather than the Stratos, and, by 1978, the 131 was being used almost exclusively, even though the Stratos still managed to win no fewer than 13 major events that year.

By 1979, it was only the private teams who were continuing to rally the Stratos, and Bernard Darniche managed to win the Monte Carlo for the Chardonnet team. This gave the Stratos its fourth successive victory on the Monte Carlo. The only works involvement came when Marku Alen persuaded the factory team to allow him to use a Stratos on the British RAC each year for the next three years. Sadly, although Alen pushed the car to its limits on these events, he was unable to give the car the RAC victory which eluded it throughout its competition career.

In 1981, Lancia unveiled the Lancia Rally 037, its new Group B rally supercar, and the Stratos was consigned to the history books, even though private teams continued to notch up victories in various European Championship events until its homologation expired at the end of 1982.

Although the production life of the Stratos was very short, its impact on the sport of rallying was immense. It was the first purpose-built rally car, and arguably the most beautiful, and led to the development of the immensely powerful Group B rally cars, the still-born Group S cars, and now the current set of WRC ( World Rally Championship) cars.

In the words of Cesare Fiorio, whose dream became reality, “With the Stratos, we had made a tremendous car, frightening other manufacturers, so that some dropped out.”

Lancia Stratos – Rally Supercar

Lancia Stratos

Although the production life of the Stratos was very short, its impact on the sport of rallying was immense.

It was the first purpose-built rally car, and arguably the most beautiful, and led to the development of the immensely powerful Group B rally cars, the still-born Group S cars, and now the current set of WRC ( World Rally Championship) cars.

In the words of Cesare Fiorio, whose dream became reality, “With the Stratos, we had made a tremendous car, frightening other manufacturers, so that some dropped out.”

Lancia Stratos – Rally Supercar

Although, the Lancia Stratos ceased production in the mid-1970s, it has continued to be an iconic rally car, loved by enthusiaist the world over.

The upsurge of historic rallying in the last few years has provided the Stratos with a new lease of life.

In Europe, several Lancia Stratos compete in the FIA Historic Rally Championship, and in the UK, Steve Perez, rallies a Lancia Stratos in the British Historic Rally Championship, and usually competes in his Lancia Stratos each year in the Roger Albert Clark Rally.

Throughout this site, you will find information about the Lancia Stratos, both from its heydays of the 1970s, and from modern times.

We have an active Stratos Forum where Stratos Enthusiasts worldwide gather to discuss the Stratos, and a massive Stratos Photo Gallery where you can find thousands of Lancia Stratos Pictures.

The Stratos was conceived by Lancia as a platform for it’s aspirations to dominate the world of rallying in the 1970s. The mid-engined sports car design (based loosely on a Bertone concept car displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1970) fitted with the powerful and robust Ferrari Dino V6 engine would be a perfect foil for the Porsche 911s and Alpine-Renaults of the period.

The Stratos was certainly never intended as a seriously practical or saleable road car and only 492 production cars were ever built. This number was just enough to fulfill the prevailing Group 4 homologation requirements of the time.

Stratos lived up to the ambitions of it’s creators, the Lancia marque and stylists from Bertone. It was one of the most successful and celebrated rally cars of all time, although Lancia would score more success later with the Delta Integrale.

At the height of it’s success in the middle of the decade, Lancia put forward plans to build a Group 5 Silhouette racing version of the car, convinced it would be able to win in this newly created formula. Development took place under the guidance of Stratos chief engineer Mike Parkes.

A turbocharged version of the V6 engine had already been tried in a Group V (standard Group IV looking) car and this was adopted for the new racer. The engine was further developed in collaboration with Carlo Facetti’s tuning outfit. The maximum power output was raised to 560 bhp.

More astonishing was the chassis and new aerodynamic bodywork created by Bertone. The wheelbase remained the same from the road car unlike the previously mentioned Turbo with (LWB) Long Wheel Base but it featured a dramatically extended rear tail section. Every piece of the car was unique and it carried the fuel tanks in the door sills!

Only two of the Silhouette cars were produced and they were both debuted at the Giro D’Italia in 1976, painted in Marlboro colours. The Facetti/Sodano car went on to score a popular home victory.

Later in the same year, one of the cars was destroyed at Zeltweg in Austria. It seems the turbocharged V6 unit was prone to overheating problems and the car was completely burned out. The remains of the chassis were disposed at location

The remaining car took part in the Giro D’Italia in the following year in the green/red and white colours of Alitalia. Later in the year it was shipped to Japan for a race at Mount Fuji. The race never took place and the car remained in Japan, later being sold on to a local collector, Mr. Matsuda – owner of the Matsuda Collection.

It seems that the death of Lancia development engineer Mike Parkes in June 1977 spelt the end of the Group 5 project. Lancia, perhaps at the behest of owners the Fiat Group, concentrated on a successful sportscar program with the Beta Montecarlo Turbo. There is no doubt that the experience Lancia Corse gained with the Gr 5 Stratos contributed to the success of the new car.

The silhoutte car remained in Japan as part of the Matsuda Collection – it’s whereabouts something of a mystery – until very recently. It resurfaced on sale for a reported £300,000 and was bought by London-based Stratos collector Christian Hrabalek. The car returned to Europe and was displayed, in 100% original condition, at the 2000 Stratos World Meeting in Rosenburg, Austria…..still bearing the decals from the 1977 Giro D’Italia race!

Whilst this is the only original Stratos Silhouette car in existence, at least three replicas have been built. The Japanese owner of this car, Mr Matsuda, comissioned a replica based wholly on a road version and had the car painted in the 1976 Marlboro livery. It is in every respects a production version apart from the modified bodywork.

A second replica car in Italy, comissioned by a Mr Georgio Schoen, was built from an original Group 4 model (an ex- Rino Fabri Car) and utilises some of the spareparts from the wreckage of the other silhouette car destroyed at Zeltweg. This car is reportedly kept in the Rosso Bianco collection.

Lastly, there is a replica in the UK which is built around a Stratos kit car chassis built and owned by Hennessy Racing and called “Evolution 2″.

(Compiled by Simon Mallett – Original document at http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/stratos3.html
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