1972 Lancia Stratos Rally

The introduction of the Lancia Stratos represented a new high point in Lancia’s already illustrious competition history and showed the world a new concept in rally car design, winning three World Rally Championships between 1974 and 1976. The story of Stratos goes back to the 1970 Turin motor show where Bertone, the Italian coachbuilder, exhibited a futuristic wedge-shaped concept car with a mid-engined Fulvia 1600 HF called the Stratos — after an employee suggested this new car looked as though it had arrived from the Stratosphere.

At the time, Lancia was looking for a replacement for their existing rally-winning Fulvia HF and decided to adopt the Bertone design. In 1971 a modified Stratos HF was exhibited in Turin, this time incorporating the Ferrari Dino engine and transmission. This was to be the basis of their future Rally Championship car. However, prior to being homologated for the Group 4 Special GT cars category, Lancia was required to...