Road tests

New Lancia Stratos

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30 Nov, 2010 11:19am John Barker

Auto Express's sister magazine EVO gets behind the wheel of the incredible Ferrari 430 Scuderia-based New Lancia Stratos.

Verdict

Entrepreneur and Stratos fan Michael Stoschek has achieved his dream with the re-creation of his all-time favourite car. And having ample resources at his disposal has allowed him to commission Pininfarina to reimagine the car for the 21st century with stunning success. The fact that the new Stratos out-performs the donor car, and has the full blessing of Ferrari, shows just how impressive a work of engineering the newcomer is. But sadly for most, ever getting to own one is a large lottery win away.

Imagine your favourite classic car reimagined for 2010. For Lancia Stratos fanatics Michael Stoschek, chairman of Brose, the automotive components group, and his son, Michael that dream has just become a reality!

In 2008, the Stosheks commissioned legendary Italian design house Pininfarina to build a modern interpretation of the Stratos. The firm took the Ferrari 430 Scuderia as a base, and grafted on a bespoke carbon fibre body that has been designed to evoke all the best bits of the original.

To ensure the new Stratos retained the wide track but short wheelbase that made the original car so distinctive, the aluminium chassis of the 430 Scuderia has been shortened by 200mm. This was then joined to a steel roll cage to give the chassis extra strength, and then the body and interior was mounted to it.

The new Stratos is 330mm shorter than the Scuderia and has a dry weight of 1,247kg, down from the Ferrari’s 1,450kg. Add in the fact that the Stratos’s 4.3-litre V8 has been upgraded from 483bhp to 532bhp and the newcomer boasts an even more impressive power-to-weight ratio.

As well as the engine, the new Stratos retains the Manettino switch which changes the car’s electronics between five different modes, ceramic brakes, stability control and paddle shift gearbox.

Just like its stunning design and Ferrari-sourced engine, the driving experience feels very much in the spirit of the original too. The Stratos’s short wheelbase and light weight makes it very agile, but at the same time, the new car retains the lively handling of the original that made the Stratos a competitive rally car in the 1970s.

The new Stratos feels quite different to the Ferrari donor car too, with only some of the switchgear in the cabin, rapid-changing gearbox and howling V8 giving away the new car’s origins.

The new car is an incredibly successful and fitting homage to the original car. Pininfarina has got the design spot on, enlarging the shape to fit the constraints of the donor Ferrari, but ensuring that the spirit of the original, complete with stubby tail, wide track and short wheelbase, is present and correct.

And while the car is the product of a huge investment from a collector and fan, the car is such a success that a limited production run of this hugely desirable car is looking very likely.

For more on the new Stratos from the man who drove it, read more on our sister site EVO.co.uk.

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Submitted by davetst on Tue, 2010-11-30 17:39.

How can you give a kit car 5 stars?
It looks more like a TR7 to me

Submitted by LegioIXHispana on Wed, 2010-12-01 03:45.

I would give it 10...

Submitted by TomTom on Wed, 2010-12-01 18:14.

Looks like the Lancia build quality remains.

They can't even make the front badge stay on (slides 5 & 6)

Submitted by andy007007 on Thu, 2010-12-02 14:37.

It's a TR7, they will copy my Stag next !!

Submitted by penncv3 on Thu, 2010-12-02 14:51.

I agree with davetst - it's a kit car. All that's missing is a set of 'demon tweeks' stickers.

Submitted by hotbulb on Thu, 2010-12-02 14:58.

Where's the rear window louvre? Bet it doesn't sound like the original - I'll never forget the syncopated rhythm of the two 3-cylinder banks from the two "silencers" as the Stratos ticked over in the Severn Bridge services on the RAC Rally in the early seventies. But overall, not a bad homage to the most exciting, enigmatic of all rally cars.

Submitted by kamps123 on Thu, 2010-12-02 17:52.

...would you kick it out of your driveway?

Submitted by kamps123 on Thu, 2010-12-02 17:56.

...would you kick it out of your driveway?

Submitted by snappyuk on Fri, 2010-12-03 00:12.

As others have rightly said, this could be regarded as a rich man's kit car, but it equally follows the old tradition of having a bespoke coachbuilt body mounted on an existing chassis.
As a design, the new car successfully evokes memories of the original, but I dread to think what price was paid for this extravagance.

Submitted by sgtgrash on Fri, 2010-12-03 05:01.

So, it's a bloody kit car is it? Show me where you can buy the kit then my numpties!!! You probably think your 'computer' is some form of modern typewriter...

Anyway, for everyone else who understands the difference between a 'Kit Car' and a bespoke design, this car is frickin' gorgeous. I loved the original Stratos, despite its many faults. What these guys have done is similar to what Ford did with the latest incarnation of the GT40. Mind you, seeing as it's based on a Ferrari 430 Scuderia, it should be a damn sight more reliable than the Ford...

Oh, did I mention I want one? Now??? :D

Submitted by DragonWiz on Sun, 2010-12-05 01:05.

It is not bad for a retro kit or not kit. Question is, why all those high-heel auto makers are using the retro designs? There is all the hardware and software of even supercomputers, all those design schools, and what we get? A retro car? Is really that 500 Fiat needed? And if this stratos is built on a Ferrari base, why not make something new, say the strtos III or IV??

Submitted by Independentopinion on Tue, 2010-12-07 20:32.

Looks like a Roger Moore era James Bond submarine Lotus