Classic Car Lancia Stratos: Rally Legend from start to finish

The Fulvia was the model that paved the way for Lancia in rallying. However, the sequel required something more radical. And the Italians decided to design a car specifically for the races from the start.

Stratos scared the competition with its looks and performance. But she often frightened her drivers because of her absolute character. What is certain is that this Lancia was only born to win. With her explosive temper and success, she became the legend of the Italian company in the games.

It all started with Cesare Fiorio. Lancia’s race director knew that the replacement of the Fulvia HF should not be based on a production car. The new race had to be designed with the Games in mind from the start. And being rear-wheel drive…

Bertone added fuel to the fire in 1970 when he presented the impressive Stratos Zero prototype at the Turin Motor Show.

That’s it. A year later, the public met the Lancia Stratos HF at the Turin fair. In the creation of Marcello Gandini, Fiorio found the basis for the racing car of his dreams…

Everything about the Stratos was designed with rallies in mind. The engine’s front hood and rear cover were extremely light and allowed direct access to the mechanical parts, allowing for easy and quick maintenance and repairs.

The interior was extremely cramped and austere for two people and their helmets. As Nuccio Bertone characteristically said, “The interior brings driver and passenger together and makes them appear as one”.

It’s possible that the frame and bodywork were miraculously available to the Fiorio, but the choice of engine would become a much more complicated process. What was certain was that he would need a team that would be extremely strong to face the very strong competition at the time.

Several proposals were tested, from the boxer engine of the Lancia Flavia to the V6 of the Fiat 130. Finally, it was the V6 engine of the Ferrari Dino 246 GT that was judged by the Fiorio to be the ideal choice for its performance but also for its exceptional reliability.

Of course it wasn’t Things are so simple Fi Fiorio had to go to great lengths to persuade Enzo Ferrari to allow Lancia to use his engine, even supplying him with enough numbers to obtain the appropriate homologation from the FIA.

According to the regulations in force at the time, the participation of a car in Group 4 required the production of at least 500 road cars, if this can be called a Stratos, which in its “political” version was a futuristic vehicle with a transverse position in the mid-engine, double wishbones in the front and McPherson Struts on the rear suspension.

With the start of production, Stratos started the first race-level tests before even receiving official certification. In its first two official appearances in 1972, at the Tour de Corse and the Costa del Sol Rally, it showed its speed from the start, while all youth problems – mainly with the rear suspension – were solved very soon.

The first win for the Stratos came a few months later in Spain in April 1973 where Sandro Munari with co-driver Mario Mannucci crossed the checkered flag first in the Firestone Rally, continuing the success they had started with the Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF.

The coveted Group 4 homologation by the FIA ​​came in October 1974 and the Stratos HF could now officially represent Lancia and score points in the World Championship. The works Lancia Stratos HF with the Munari/Mannucci won the Sanremo Rally and the Rideau Lakes Rally in Canada, and along with Andruet’s victory in the Tour de Corse, the Lancia won the 1974 World Rally Championship, the first in a long time of successes that would conquer the brand next.

Over the years, the Lancia Racing Team entered 26 official cars, first with a 12-valve and then with a 24-valve head. The Ferrari V6 engine with an angle of 65 degrees and a power of 280 (12V) to 320 (24V) hp accelerated the Stratos up to 220 km / h, while the compact dimensions in combination with the low weight, the 980 kg, put together a set with impressive performance and enormous flexibility.

The red and white color due to Marlboro sponsorship was replaced by Alitalia colors in 1975, creating one of the most classic and recognizable colors in the history of the Games.

The Lancia Stratos HF Gr.4 soon became the “ultimate weapon” of rallying. Victories came at a rapid pace and the competition had a hard time resisting this car, which was born with the sole aim of winning. With three consecutive wins in the legendary Monte Carlo Rally, three world titles in 1974, 1975 and 1976 and Sandro Munari winning the 1977 FIA Rally Drivers World Cup, Stratos has accomplished its mission.

1978 was an episodic year for the Fiat Group, which decided to outsource its representation in the World Rally Championship to the Fiat 131 Abarth. Lancia Stratos was more or less “turned off” in the European Championship.

The Fiat 131 Abarth Rally was good at racing too, but the Stratos HF didn’t fail to underscore even that winning character when Markky Alèn / Ilkka Kivimäki won the 1978 Sanremo Rally ahead. from 131 Abarth Alitalia by Maurizio Verini and Arnaldo Bernacchini! Stratos continued to win races and racing awards in Europe through the early 1980s.

As well as being a hugely successful racing car, the Stratos HF contributed significantly to the history Lancia made in rallying, handing down a very heavy legacy to the 037 Rally and the S4 which continued the brand’s legend in the 1980s should.

Today it is very difficult to see an authentic Lancia Stratos live. If you’re a fan of their legend, take a trip to Turin, where two such beauties are housed at Stellantis’ Heritage Hub.