The legendary Lancia Stratos HF was without a doubt the most spectacular and successful rally car of the 70s. With its thrilling lines and uncompromising design for rally use, the Stratos not only single-handedly rewrote the history of rallying, it won a permanent place in the hearts of its countless fans with its dramatic performance on the world’s asphalt and gravel tracks.
In 2008, Michael and Maximilian Stoschek, the father and son team initiated the new Stratos project to revive the legendary Italian machine when they announced plans to put a Pininfarina-designed body on a shortened Ferrari F430 chassis. The first prototypes were shown a couple of years later. The Stoscheks were aided by Paolo Garella, who was the head of Pininfarina’s special projects and had managed the New Stratos. As the car was in the process of being built, he left Pininfarina and soon after founded his own outfit, Manifattura Automobile Torino (MAT).
The new Stratos is a one-off model based on the overall design and concept of the original 70s Stratos HF and was designed by Pininfarina. The Lancia Stratos HF’s unique technical characteristics – the lightweight plastic body with integrated roll cage, the mid-engine, the racing transmission, the adjustable chassis for all applications, the two side tanks at the center of the vehicle, the integrated car door compartments for driver and front passenger helmets, the removable front and rear hoods for servicing and the separate engine access through a hatch – are all included in its successor’s specifications.
Just as the original Lancia Stratos, with its Ferrari Dino V6 engine, was nevertheless a distinct sports car in its own right, the New Stratos is also a distinct development, using components of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Almost all of these components have been modified and, as necessary, customized to their new purpose. It is not a mere conversion of a Ferrari, but a newly developed, independent sports car that, as in the 1970s, integrates several components from the Fiat Group’s production vehicles. With an acceleration time from 0-100 km/h of 3.3 seconds. Top speed will be reduced to 274 km/h, in order to achieve even better acceleration values. (new-stratos.com & petrolicious.com)
Update July 2018: Garella submitted his designs to the Stoscheks, who in turn have given their green light for a 25-car production run and a tight collaboration throughout. The first handful of customer-bound New Stratos, which should be ready for delivery later in 2018. (petrolicious.com)
The new Stratos is a one-off model based on the overall design and concept of the original 70s Stratos HF and was designed by Pininfarina. The Lancia Stratos HF’s unique technical characteristics – the lightweight plastic body with integrated roll cage, the mid-engine, the racing transmission, the adjustable chassis for all applications, the two side tanks at the center of the vehicle, the integrated car door compartments for driver and front passenger helmets, the removable front and rear hoods for servicing and the separate engine access through a hatch – are all included in its successor’s specifications.
Just as the original Lancia Stratos, with its Ferrari Dino V6 engine, was nevertheless a distinct sports car in its own right, the New Stratos is also a distinct development, using components of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Almost all of these components have been modified and, as necessary, customized to their new purpose. It is not a mere conversion of a Ferrari, but a newly developed, independent sports car that, as in the 1970s, integrates several components from the Fiat Group’s production vehicles. With an acceleration time from 0-100 km/h of 3.3 seconds. Top speed will be reduced to 274 km/h, in order to achieve even better acceleration values. (new-stratos.com & petrolicious.com)
Update July 2018: Garella submitted his designs to the Stoscheks, who in turn have given their green light for a 25-car production run and a tight collaboration throughout. The first handful of customer-bound New Stratos, which should be ready for delivery later in 2018. (petrolicious.com)
2011 New Lancia Stratos Prototype
(Below) With the original Straotos HF from the 1970s.
(Photos from petrolicious.com, caranddriver.com & new-stratos.com)