Lancia Stratos

The Lancia Stratos HF is an automobile from the Italian manufacturer Lancia. He was the first designed exclusively for the rally and emergency vehicle in this motorsport extremely successful. Among other things, Lancia Stratos won with the direct consequence the World Rally Championships for years 1974, 1975 and 1976, which were then still only extended as a classification for designers.

From the study of the series

In 1970, Bertone presented at the Turin Motor Show, the design study Lancia Stratos 0 with the four- cylinder engine of the Lancia Fulvia as a mid-engine ahead of the rear axle. It is not obvious to bring the concept of this design with rallies in conjunction. The driver is extremely placed far forward, so that his knees are between the front wheels. The hinged windshield is the only door.

1971 Lancia Stratos HF was presented with the six- cylinder engine of the Dino 246 GT. In contrast to the Stratos 0, the motor is not along, but installed transversely as in Dino direction of travel. With 2160 mm wheelbase, 3670 mm length, 1700 mm width and 1080 mm height of the car is very compact. The driver is not sitting as far forward as the Stratos 0, but the footwell is extremely narrow. To facilitate repairs, the entire front section forward and the entire rear end is hinged to the rear. Both parts are made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, while the rest of the body is made of steel.

In the street version Stradale has the V6 engine 2.4 liter displacement, two-valve cylinder heads and a maximum output of 195 hp. The car reached from standstill in 6.8 seconds 100 km / h mark and a top speed of 248 km / h

The Lancia Stratos HF was produced at Bertone in a small series to reach its homologation in Group 4 of the FIA. These 400 items were ultimately required after the originally requested by the FIA quantity of 500 copies had been lowered. How many copies were actually produced, so is unknown. Bertone itself estimates that there were about 495 pieces. His time to have been sold in Germany for less than $ 15,000 the last new vehicles. Nowadays you have to pay for a good specimen of this rare collectible at least 100,000 euros.

As an obstetrician of the Stratos Lancia former motorsport boss Cesare Fiorio and rally driver Sandro Munari work can be considered - the name of the British racing driver and engineer Mike Parkes stands for the art, however, behind the entire Autosport project Lancia Stratos HF. The HF was chosen as an abbreviation for High Fidelity (English for high fidelity ). These two letters took over the Lancia factory (according to a Lancia Press Release of the year 1971) with the prior approval of the established in 1963, HF Squadra Corse, a club of Lancia racers, and used it even later several times for particularly sporty models.

Racing History

Lancia Stratos 1972, the first time at a rally, was with him but could not be competitive. In early 1974 Mike Parkes joined to Lancia and made ​​a major contribution to make the car competitive.

Stocked in rally design ( group 4) and with a 24-valve cylinder head of the Stratos over 280 hp disposal - the Giro d' Italia ( more of a race than a rally ) to Markku Alén 1978 even a 420 hp Stratos to victory have controlled.

The only two produced by the factory for races after the Stratos Group 5 regulations had a turbocharger and were about 560 HP. 1976 and 1977 was a Lancia Stratos team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the start of each tournament. In 1976 the French-Italian women's team and Lella Lombardi, Christine Dacremont 20th overall. A year later stopped after two hours of racing engine damage the ambitions of the French duo Christine Dacremont and Marianne Hoepfner.

1976, the Austrian Franz Wurz was Rallycross European Championship with a Lancia Stratos HF. For the year 1977, he received from Mike Parkes an engine that possessed by a prototype crankshaft of the works teams with a displacement of just under three liters and a maximum capacity of just over 320 hp. His compatriot and teammate Andy Bentza took this car in late 1977, was with him in 1978 Rallycross European champions of the newly created GT division, so still drove well into the 1980s into competitions and had the only 3-liter Stratos by mid-2013 in his possession.

1977 curtailed the Fiat Group, which Lancia was already belonged to the racing budget of Lancia in favor of the factory teams with Fiat 131 Abarth. Lancia took part in this year only four rallies. After 1978, the sponsor was changed from Alitalia Lancia Fiat - Abarth, Lancia denied only competitions in Europe. From 1979, there was no longer the Stratos works team.

1979 won an official appointed by the French Lancia Stratos Chardonnet importer under Bernard Darniche / Alain Mahé last time the victory in the Rally Monte Carlo.

Lancia Stratos HF Stradale

Lancia Stratos HF Group 4

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo Group 5

Lancia Stratos HF 3.0 Group 5 for Rallycross

Lancia's 100 - year celebration in 2006 in Turin

Reprints

Fenomenon Stratos

In the spring of 2005, the Design Studio Ltd Fenomenon presented. , is one of London to the owners of the Stratos collector Christian Hrabalek, at the Geneva Motor Show inspired the Lancia Stratos study. Fenomenon called first Stratos, later NewStratos. The vehicle was designed for wealthy clients in developing countries, which should make it possible to drive on dirt roads with a supercar. There were no investors to finance the announced volume production.

New Stratos

After no new edition of the Stratos is planned by Lancia, the entrepreneur Michael Stoschek was in the autumn of 2008 New Stratos on Ferrari basis at Pininfarina in order. On 13 December 2010, the New Stratos was unveiled at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France the public. As a basis for the New Stratos Ferrari 430 Scuderia served, almost all elements, however, were modified or adapted to meet the requirements to meet.

Like its predecessor, the New Stratos should have a very short wheelbase and have by combining it with a very low weight superior agility. According to the original of the 1970s, the mid-engine layout should be used again. The aluminum extrusion profile Stang chassis of the New Stratos was compared with the base model reduced by 20 cm and connected to a steel roll cage. With 44% front and 56 % rear weight distribution of the New Stratos is almost balanced.

As the main material for car body and interior was almost entirely of carbon fiber and aluminum are used. With 1247 kg empty weight of the New Stratos 80 kg weighs less on the scale than the Ferrari base model. 19 -inch wheels with central locking - as known from racing - with 265/30 front and 315/30 rear emphasize the wedge-shaped appearance of the New Stratos. A ceramic disc brake system from Brembo is the delay. At the steering wheel can electronically damping the - set springs - over the Ferrari retuned.

The steering works electro-hydraulically and with the shift paddles of the Ferrari 430 racing version can be switched. It supported LEDs in the steering wheel the driver to find the optimal switching point. The six-speed gearbox of the Ferrari was equipped with a mechanical differential lock, thus, gear changes in less than 60 ms are possible. Also the motor follows the New Stratos his forefather, the 4.3 -liter V8 engine of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia served as the base as it was the engine of the Ferrari Dino 246 GT. The power was increased to 540 hp through ECU modifications and a sport exhaust system with manifolds and sport catalysts, the torque was given as " greater than 500 Nm ." Two 90 -liter tanks in the center of the vehicle - serve are the fuel supply to the engine - sitting on the right and the left. At 3.3 s speeds the New Stratos from 0 to 100 km / h in 9.7 to 200 Top speed was reported as 274 km / h.