It's one of the most successful rally cars ever built, wicked and unforgiving
to drive, a spaceship for the road
to drive, a spaceship for the road
Lancia was struggling when Sandro Fiorio, the company's director of public relations, and his son Cesare, head of Lancia's rally team, spied the Fulvia-based "Stratos" concept on the Bertone stand at the 1970 Turin Motor Show.
They immediately recognized its potential to revitalize Lancia's competition reputation and generate some badly needed publicity. The pair convinced Lancia's managing director, Ugo Gobbato, to commission Bertone to develop a series based on the concept.
Gobbato, recently transferred to Lancia after a stint as head of Ferrari, added the 65-degree, 2,419-cc V6 Dino engine and gearbox, already developed for transverse mid-engine placement. Bertone rushed a refined Stratos to the 1971 Turin Show.
More practical and functional than the canopy-topped, extreme-wedge Stratos concept of 1970, the new Stratos was one of the most futuristic automobiles ever proposed for production. Most rally cars looked like sedans. The Lancia Stratos looked like a spaceship. With its short wheelbase, aggressive wedge profile, huge wraparound windshield and squared-off wheelwell flares, it was a dramatic departure for international rallying.
In 1973, driven by Sandro Munari, the Stratos was victorious in the Tour de France. It captured three European Hillclimb Championships. It swept the World Rally Championship for Makes in 1974, 1975, and 1976.
No one who saw a mud-splattered Stratos flung through a corner by Munari-adorned with assorted aerodynamic aids, enough lights to illuminate a football stadium, and incongruously topped by a spare tire strapped to its roof-can ever forget it.
Lancia eventually built 492 Strati in order to meet FIA GT qualifications and even created a Group V Stratos with an estimated 400 turbocharged horsepower. With a wheelbase four inches shorter than a Ferrari Dino and weighing 200 pounds less, the Lancia Stratos is one of the most exhilarating driving experiences ever created.
This 1972 Lancia Stratos was originally built as a Stradale and was subsequently converted to Rally specs, which included a Group IV competition gearbox. The engine is believed to make 240 horsepower. In the past eight years, the Stratos has had two well-known collector owners who used it for high-speed open-road events.
Its most recent event was the 2005 Texas 1000 where it incurred left rear quarter damage during an off-course excursion. Now carefully repaired, the Stratos' surprisingly large interior has been upgraded with newer and more comfortable seats and five-point competition belts. The brilliant competition orange paint is its original color.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Original List Price: | $18,500 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $600 |
| Distributor Caps: | $275 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Stamped on firewall in front compartment |
| Engine Number Location: | On forward side of block |
| Club Info: | American Lancia Club, 27744 Via Ventana, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 |
| Website: | http://www.americanlanciaclub.org |
| Alternatives: | 1984 Ford RS200, 1976 Alpine A310, 1981 Renault 5 Turbo |
| Investment Grade: | B |
This 1972 Lancia Stratos H.F. sold for $137,500 at RM’s sale in Phoenix, Arizona, January 19, 2007.
The Stratos is one of the most successful rally cars ever built, one of the most valuable Lancias in the classic car market, an example of parts bin engineering, wicked and unforgiving to drive, and a spaceship for the road. Although much is made of the connection between the production car and the Bertone show car, they share little beyond the name and a mid-engine layout.
The Stratos show car was powered by a 1,600-cc Fulvia HF V4. At first it was thought that the 1,800-cc twin cam from the Beta might be used, but the engineers wanted more power. One theory is that Ferrari was approached to supply the Dino V6, but hesitated until Lancia began talks with Maserati to use the V8 from the Bora.
Another theory has Ferrari ending production of the Dino 246 GT in favor of the 308 GT4, and not seeing the Lancia Stratos as a direct competitor.
After a less-than-stellar competition debut in 1972, the Stratos claimed its first victory in 1973. Homologation came late in 1974, with the alleged completion of 400 cars and the first of three consecutive World Rally Championships.
“At the edge, it’s a handful”
Most of the cars built were “Rally” models as opposed to the “Stradale,” or street cars, but many Stradales have been converted to competition specs over the years. In either guise, the Stratos has a reputation for being tricky to drive.
Armand Giglio is a long-time Stratos owner and former president of the American Lancia Club. He says of the Stratos: “At the edge, it’s a handful. I’ve driven it pretty fast at Lime Rock, but I wouldn’t do it on the street. It doesn’t require magical skill to drive. It was designed to be thrown into a corner and steered around on the throttle, not drifted, so it shouldn’t lose adhesion.”
The Lancia Stratos can switch from understeer to oversteer quite quickly-typical of mid-engined cars. Rapid changes in direction are needed going into and coming out of corners.
The usability of the Stratos is surprising. It has great forward visibility, enabling the driver to place it very accurately. It’s noisy, but no more so than a Ferrari Dino. It has a good deal of luggage room in the rear. The cockpit also has elbow room, thanks to the helmet pockets in the doors. But if you’re much over 5’9″ tall, headroom will be tight.
The suspension is compliant and there’s good ventilation-a friend once drove a Lancia Stratos from New York City to Pittsburgh, an eight-hour drive in 100-degree summer weather, without problem or complaint. It’s also surprisingly unfussy mechanically. The biggest problem is that if it’s flooded while starting, you must remove and clean all the plugs.
Be careful when jacking it up
And be careful in putting the Stratos onto a lift; make sure to use the jacking points and lift slowly and evenly. Any twisting can easily break the dramatically curved windshield. Most trim pieces in the stark interior are from the Fiat parts bin and available here and in Italy. Mechanically, the Stratos needs the same 15,000-mile service interval as the Ferrari Dino, primarily for valve adjustment.
Given the low mileage most Strati cover today, the valve cover gaskets will let you know when to do the service. No Italian cars like to sit, but the Stratos likes it less than most. Anything less than 400 miles a year is a bad idea.
The 1972 Lancia Stratos H.F. sold by RM was genuine, though there are a number of fakes, as well as acknowledged replicas. This car began life as the rarer Stradale, and who knows why people convert the Stradale to competition specs, as by doing so they take an almost usable car and make it very noisy and harsh. (For the Texas rally the owner used motorcycle touring headsets to converse with his navigator.)
This car’s engine has been uprated, and along with a Group IV gearbox and late-type wide wheelarch flares, full auxiliary nose lamps have been added.
In addition, the seller, a tall man, has fitted lower, flatter seats to add room inside. In fact, most often he sat on the carpeted floor to drive it, a cushion lodged between his back and the rear bulkhead.
Realizing $137,500 against an estimate of $70,000 to $90,000 was a surprise, as condition was no better than average. However, this and the $281,000 achieved for a 1974 Group IV Stratos with no major competition history at the February Artcurial sale in Paris suggests that Stratos values are on the rise. With the pedigree this very special Lancia Stratos H.F. model has, this car, even without any significant history, has to be counted a bit of a bargain.