New Lancia Stratos

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.