T h e e x-Scuderia Tre Gazzelle/ Italian Ra l l y ... - Kidston

Private Portfolio No. 100
1975 Lancia Stratos Group 4
a 1970 styling exercise on a Lancia Fulvia which was snapped up by Lancia’s competition manager, Cesare
Fiorio. It was a case of starting with the body and building a mid-engined car beneath it. It must be the only
time at this level of motor sport when this has happened, but Bertone’s body was a special case.
A prototype using Lancia running gear was built, but the chassis showed so much potential that a 2.4-litre
Ferrari Dino engine and five-speed transmission was substituted. The chassis had all-independent suspension
and the body was built from fibreglass. In production form, the Stratos had a top speed of 143 mph/ 229 kmh
and could sprint, 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds – better figures than the Ferrari Dino which had donated the running
g e a r. This performance, allied with superb
handling and brakes, together with that stunning
body, elevated the Stratos into the contemporary
supercar category. That image was reinforced by
the fact that Lancia took a hat-trick of World
Rally Championships, 1974-6. After 1976
Lancia withdrew its team, but the Stratos was not
finished. As late as 1979 a privately entered
Stratos won the Monte Carlo Rally which ranks
as one of the most remarkable feats in the history
of the World Rally Championship.
2
A genuine Group 4 rally Stratos, this is one of 19
prepared in period by University Motors of
Genova: others went to Attilio Bettega, Jean-
Claude Andruet and even Nigel Mansell, but this
car was destined for the fondly remembered
female pairing of Luisa Zumelli and Isabella