cnpapa24 & IRISH & Phil, you all need to come to Pittsburgh Vintage GP in July. The Cortile carshow on a golfcourse overlooking the GP in a city park is terrific. The feature marque is simply 'Italian cars'. Organizers have granted a special area for "Cars of Rally Significance" just for cars like yours. The featured vintage race is "Italian cars". And the former Fiat Lancia Unlimited (now Fiat Club America) is holding their National convention at the GP/Cortile w/ events and tours and judging Lancias. We plan to have a couple rally Deltas there.
I need to get a copy! Just came back from driving on some winding roads. I have to say there is truly nothing like driving the Stratos and I've driven quite a few cars. The race heritage is apparent in every aspect of the car.
Looking back through this thread, I see the Stratos was never properly introduced. With a Dino V6 engine, Gandini design, and rally race purpose, it is certainly a one of a kind. For those of you unfamiliar with the its origins, here is a brief description from a recent RM catalog: When launched, few cars turn the automobile world on its head. But if just one could be chosen which had just that effect, it would surely be the Lancia Stratos HF. It was the first automobile purposely built for competition in the World Rally Championship, and the Stratos powerful, radical design looked like nothing else on the road, ever. Further adding to the cars lustre was the fact that it was probably the only Ferrari-powered car to be regularly seen in its element, covered in mud and sliding around the worlds toughest rally stages. In 1970, Italian design house Bertone arrived at the Turin Motor Show with a radical concept, the Stratos Zero. It looked like a spaceship for the road and stood out not only to the throngs of media and show-goers but also to Lancia Director of Public Relations Sandro Fiorio. Fiorio turned to his son, Cesare, Lancias rally team chief, and the two pondered about how a production version of the Stratos could be introduced in order to reverse the manufacturers struggling motorsports division. With a sense of purpose, the Fiorios approached then Lancia Managing Director Ugo Gobbato with the idea of a Bertone-bodied car that was based on the Stratos Zero concept, albeit without the upward-swinging windscreen, which also doubled as a door. Gobbato signed-off on the project on the condition that it would be powered by a mid-mounted Ferrari V-6 engine and a five-speed manual gearbox, resulting in a clever example of corporate parts sharing. A year later, the glowing orange Stratos HF (High Fidelity) prototype debuted at the 1971 Turin Auto Show. The Stratos stunning design was entrusted to Marcello Gandini, and in a nod to the cars competition intentions, it featured a large wraparound front windshield, which offered an enormous outward view for its driver. The lightweight futuristic wedge-shaped design, along with its 192 horsepower, helped to propel the Stratos Stradale from 0 to 60 mph in less than five seconds, as well as to a top speed of 140 mph, which was certainly fast enough for any rally stage. It should come as no surprise that the Stratos was a huge success in the WRC, with three World Championship victories in 1974, 1975, and 1976. It would even go on to win rallies in 1979, which was several years after Lancia withdrew from rally competition.
Some period footage of the Stratos in its element [ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQgBUTq82o[/ame]
A well kept and very original Stratos at a sports car meeting just outside Oslo a couple of weeks ago. I believe this is the only Stratos to have been sold new in Norway. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The short wheelbase and mid engine Ferrari V6 is part of what made the Statos among the most formidable rally cars of all time. Image Unavailable, Please Login
For guys in US, I've imported a crate of rally remote control cars from Italy much better detailed than the Japanese ones. Have several in different famous rally livery or clear bodies you or I if you prefer can paint to resemble your Stratos. PM me if you wanna mini version of your car.
