Difference between revisions of "Lancia Stratos"

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* [http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/stratos.html Article about the Lancia Stratos Group 5 silhouette car]
 
* [http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/stratos.html Article about the Lancia Stratos Group 5 silhouette car]
 
* [http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/stratosgal.html Extensive image gallery of the Lancia Stratos Group 5 silhouette car]
 
* [http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/stratosgal.html Extensive image gallery of the Lancia Stratos Group 5 silhouette car]
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{{lancia}}
 
{{lancia}}
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[[Category:Lancia vehicles|Stratos]]
 
[[Category:Lancia vehicles|Stratos]]

Revision as of 15:38, 16 June 2008


250px
Lancia Stratos HF
Aka Lancia Stratos
Production 1972–1973
492 produced
Class Sports/Rally car
Manufacturer Lancia
Layout MR layout
Parent company Fiat Group
Engine 2418 cc 65° V6


1974 Lancia Stratos HF Group 4
Lancia Stratos Turbo Group 5

The Lancia Stratos HF, widely known as Lancia Stratos was an automobile made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity.

History

The Stratos was a very successful rally car during the 1970s and early 1980s. It started a new era in rallying as it was the first car designed from scratch for this kind of competition. The three leading men behind the entire rallying project were Lancia team manager Cesare Fiorio, British racer/engineer Mike Parkes and factory rally driver Sandro Munari.

1970 Lancia Stratos 0, the first prototype of Lancia Stratos

The bodywork was designed by Marcello Gandini, head designer at Bertone, and the technical layout was loosely based on a (Lancia Fulvia V4 powered) concept car called Stratos Zero first shown at the Turin Motor Show in 1970. The body was wedge-shaped, and unusually short and wide, providing maximum traction.

In 1971 Lancia presented the Lancia Stratos HF prototype. The Stratos prototype (Chassis 1240) was fluorescent red in colour and featured a distinctive crescent-shaped-wrap-around windshield providing maximum forward visibility with almost no rear visibility (which was unnecessary for rallying anyway). The prototype had three different engines in its early development life: the Lancia Fulvia engine, the Lancia Beta engine and finally the mid-mounted 190 bhp (140 kW) 2418 cc Dino Ferrari V6.

Lancia did extensive testing with the Stratos and raced the car in several racing events where Group 5 prototypes were allowed during the 1972 and 1973 seasons. Production of the 400 cars required for homologation in Group 4 were launched in 1973 and the car was homologated for the 1974 World Championship. The Dino V6 was phased out in 1974, but 500 engines among the last built were delivered to Lancia.

For racing, the engine was tuned up to 280hp and even to 560hp with a single KKK turbocharger. However, turbocharged versions were only allowed to compete in Group 5 and were never as reliable as their naturally aspirated counterparts.

The car won the 1974, 1975 and 1976 championships in the hands of Sandro Munari, and might have gone on to win more had not internal politics within the Fiat group placed rallying responsibility on the Fiat 131 Abarths. The Stratos won the Monte Carlo Rally with the private Chardonnet Team as late as 1979.

Without support from Fiat, and despite new regulations that restricted engine power, the car would remain a serious competitor and proved able to beat works cars in several occasions when entered by an experienced private team with a talented driver. The final point to the Stratos's racing career at international level took place as late as 1981, at the Tour de Corse Automobile, a World championship event, with a victory of Bernard Darniche.

When the Fiat group favored the Fiat 131 for rallying Lancia also built two Group 5 turbocharged 'silhouette' Stratos for closed-track endurance racing. Theses cars failed against the Porsche 935s on closed tracks but proved successful in hybrid events. While they failed in the Tour de France Automobile, one of these cars won the 1976 Giro d'Italia Automobilistica, an Italian counterpart of the Tour de France Automobile. Unfortunately one of the cars was destroyed in Zeltweg, when it caught fire due to overheating problems. The last surviving car would win the Giro d'Italia event again before it was shipped to Japan to compete in the Fuji Speedway based Formula Silhouette series, which was never raced. The car would then be sold and reside in the Matsuda Collection before then being sold to the renowned collector of Stratos', Christian Hrabalek, a car designer and the founder of Fenomenon Ltd.

Hrabalek has the largest Lancia Stratos Collection in the world- he owns 11 unique Lancia Stratos cars, including the fluorescent red 1971 factory prototype and the 1977 Safari Rally car.

Production

With only 492 ever made, the Stratos is very rare to this day.

In 1978, Bertone created and designed a concept car based on the Stratos called the Sibilo.

In popular culture

Fenomenon Stratos

Fenomenon Stratos

At the Geneva Auto Show of 2005, a British design firm known as Fenomenon debuted a retromodern concept version of the Stratos.


External links


LANCIA

1907-1918: Alfa-12HP · Alfa-24HP · Dialfa-18HP · Beta-15/20HP · Delta-20/30HP · Epsilon · Eta-30/50HP · Gamma-20HP · Theta-35HP · Zeta-12/15HP
1918-1945: Aprilia · Ardea · Ardennes · Artena · Astura · Augusta · Belna · Dilambda · Kappa · Lambda · Trikappa
1945-1980: Appia · Aurelia · Beta · D20 · D23 · D24 · D25 · D50 · Flaminia · Flavia · Fulvia · Gamma · Montecarlo · Stratos HF
1980-2000: Dedra · Delta · Delta S4 · Kappa · LC1 · LC2 · Lybra · Prisma · Thema · Trevi · Y10 · Ypsilon · Zeta · 037 (Group B)
Current models: Musa · Phedra · Thesis · Ypsilon
Concept models: Marcia · Medusa · Megagamma · Orca · Sibilo


Vincenzo Lancia · Corporate website · A brand of the Fiat group


Bertone Designs
Abarth: 1952 Abarth 1500 Coupé | 1958 Abarth 1000 GT Coupé | 1965 Abarth OT 1000 Spider

Alfa Romeo: 1953 Alfa Romeo BAT-5 | 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Sport Spider | 1954 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva | 1954 Alfa Romeo BAT-7 | 1954 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint | 1955 Alfa Romeo BAT-9 | 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale | 1962 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint | 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint | 1962 Alfa Romeo GTA | 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale | 1964 Alfa Romeo Canguro | 1967 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior | 1967 Alfa Romeo Montreal | 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo | 1976 Alfa Romeo Navajo | 1978 Alfa Romeo Alfetta | 1980 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 2000 | 1983 Alfa Romeo Delfino | 2003 Alfa Romeo GT
ASA: 1962 ASA Coupé
Bertone: 1970 Bertone Berlinetta | 1992 Bertone Blitz | 2003 Bertone Birusa
Ferrari: 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso | 1974 Ferrari 208/308 GT4 | 1976 Ferrari Rainbow
Fiat: 1967 Fiat Dino Coupé | 1968 Fiat 850Sport Spider | 1978 Fiat Ritmo/Strada | Fiat X1/9
ISO: 1962 Iso Rivolta | 1965 Iso Grifo | 1969 Iso Lele
Lamborghini: 1967 Lamborghini Marzal | 1967 Lamborghini Miura | 1968 Lamborghini Espada | 1970 Lamborghini Urraco | 1971 Lamborghini Countach | 1974 Lamborghini Bravo | 1980 Lamborghini Athon | 1988 Lamborghini Genesis | 1990 Lamborghini Diablo
Lambretta: 1968 Lambretta Luna line: Lui, Vega & Cometa | 1969 Lambretta GP/DL Scooter
Lancia: 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero | 1972 Lancia Stratos | 1978 Lancia Sibilo
Maserati: 1972 Maserati Khamsin | 1974 Maserati Quattroporte II