Lancia Stratos HF

Lancia Stratos HF
Lancia Stratos HF Stradale (road version)
Overview
Manufacturer	Lancia
Production	1973–1978 ca. 492 produced
Assembly	Italy: Turin
Designer	Marcello Gandini at Bertone
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car Rally car
Layout	Transverse mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Chassis	Steel space-frame structure with integral roll-cage. Fiberglass body
Powertrain
Engine	2,418 cc (148 cu in) Dino V6
Power output	Stradale: 190 hp (140 kW)
Transmission	5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,180 mm (85.8 in)
Length	3,710 mm (146.1 in)
Width	1,750 mm (68.9 in)
Height	1,110 mm (43.7 in)
Curb weight	Stradale: 980 kg (2,161 lb) Group 4: 880 kg (1,940 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Lancia Fulvia HF
Successor	Lancia Rally 037

The Lancia Stratos HF [1] (Tipo 829), widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a sports car and rally car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity. It was a very successful rally car, winning the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976.

A Bertone-designed concept car called the Lancia Stratos Zero was shown to the public in 1970, but shares little but the name and mid-engined layout with the Stratos HF version. A new car called the New Stratos was announced in 2010 which was heavily influenced by the design of the original Stratos, but was based on a Ferrari chassis and engine.

Bertone had no previous business with Lancia, who were traditionally linked with Pininfarina, and he wanted to come into conversation with them. Bertone knew that Lancia was looking for a replacement for the ageing Fulvia for use in rally sports and so he designed an eye-catcher to show to Lancia. Bertone used the running gear of the Fulvia Coupé of one of his personal friends and built a running showpiece around it. When Bertone himself appeared at the Lancia factory gates with the Stratos Zero he passed underneath the barrier and got great applause from the Lancia workers. After that a cooperation between Lancia and Bertone was decided to develop a new rally car based on ideas of Bertone’s designer Marcello Gandini who already had designed the Lamborghini Miura and Countach.

Lancia presented the Bertone-designed Lancia Stratos HF prototype at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, a year after the announcement of the Stratos Zero concept car. The prototype Stratos HF (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. The prototype had three different engines in its early development life: the Lancia Fulvia engine, the Lancia Beta engine and finally for the 1971 public announcement, the mid-mounted Dino Ferrari V6 producing 190 hp (140 kW). The use of the Dino V6 was planned right from the beginning of the project, but Enzo Ferrari was reluctant to sign off the use of this engine in a car he saw as a competitor to his own Dino V6. After the production of the Dino car had ended the "Commendatore" (a popular nickname for Enzo Ferrari) agreed on delivering the engines for the Stratos, and Lancia then suddenly received 500 units.