Lancia 037 Stradale | Classic Italian Cars For Sale

By now, the story of the Lancia 037 is a familiar one: Lancia set out to follow up the FIA Group 5 World Rally Championship success of their Stratos with the 037 in the newly-minted FIA Group B World Rally Championship. Series regulations required the manufacture of 200 road-going examples in order to compete, and thus, the Lancia 037 Stradale was born.

The mid-section of the cars was borrowed from the Lancia Montecarlo/Scorpion, while steel tube structures replaced the front and rear of the donor cars. Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass made up the new front and rear body work, which was designed by Pininfarina. The mid-engine layout was retained, but with the engine and transmission rotating 90 degrees into a longitudinal layout. Abarth breathed on the powertrain, while none other than Dallara provided the necessary suspension design and tuning.

1984 Lancia 037 Stradale red rear — *Click to view listing*

Year: 1984
Model: Lancia
Engine: 2.0L supercharged 4-cylinder
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 3,234km
Price: Auction, €350.000 - €400.000 estimate
Location: Essen, Germany

1984 Lancia 037 Stradale red interior — *Click to view listing*

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Lancia 037 Stradale

Chassis No. ZLA151AR000000022

1984 Lancia 037 Stradale red engine — *Click to view listing*

As exciting as the history of these cars is, we wonder if there isn't a way to coax more power from the twin cam Fiat engine. Nothing irreversible, but something more nonetheless. Aside from the relatively - and with a curb weight of 2,579lb, we do mean relatively - low power output of 205hp, we wouldn't change anything about one of these Stradales.

Homologation specials are, it now seems, strictly the domain of wealthy collectors. If that describes you, then this example may be a wise purchase. For the rest of use, well, a nice Montecarlo with a hot 2 liter might come close.

-Graham

The number 037 is infamous in both Lancia and World Rally Circles. Built solely for the FIA Group B World Rally Championship, this was the last rear wheel drive vehicle to win the championship. Group B regulations required 200 road going models to be built for sale. Some might notice a resemblance between this 037 and the Lancia Scorpion featured a few days ago, and that's no coincidence. The 037 shares its center section with the Scorpion/Montecarlo, while the front and rear ends are steel subframes with kevlar body panels. As for the engine, in true Lancia fashion, the road less traveled was taken. Lancia fitted a supercharger to the Fiat 131 rally car engine developed by Abarth, as they were seeking to improve throttle response. Most of us are used to seeing 037s in Martini or other racing livery, so this red example brought to the US in 1990 is quite a unique find.

1983 Lancia 037

1983 Lancia 037. This amazing original example was purchased new by Ana Traub of Germany in 1983. Purchased December 12, 1989 by Manfredo Lippmann of Guatemala, then imported into the USA on January 08, 1990. Mr. Lippmann brought the car to his Denver, Colorado home for his son, Guillermo. Introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1982, the Lancia Rally 037 is a light and powerful touring-car, studied in collaboration with Lancia races department, Abarth and Pininfarina study center. Planned for a high level employment in the rallies, it has been realized in a series of 200 samples, in order to obtain the homologation in the group B, the maximum rally category where cars purposely elaborated raced and, in any case, derived from production-model cars.

Powered by its original Supercharged 4 cylinder 1995 cc engine with 205 horsepower. Also comes equipped with its original ZF 5-Speed manual transmission. It is still equipped with its Speedline wheels and original Pirelli tires. The body is Kevlar-reinforced with glassfibre. 0-60 MPH in less than 6 seconds! Top speed is over 140MPH. It would be extremely difficult to find a better original example!

The asking price is not for the faint of heart but I can't remember the last time I saw an 037 for sale. These are beastly cars with a very notorious reputation in motorsport, as rally driver Attilio Bettega lost his life in an 037 in the Tour de Corse on May 2, 1985. In a very eerie twist of fate, fellow rally driver Henri Toivonen died in the exact same race on May 2, 1986 in an all wheel drive Lancia Delta S4, which replaced the 037 and was an evolution of that car. The S4 had a twin charged engine (supercharged and turbocharged). It produced roughly 480 horsepower and was reported to have acceleration from 0 to 62 in under 2.3 seconds. Toivonen had complained that the car was too powerful and twitchy at the limits for this particular race but nevertheless pressed on, when suddenly he lost control of his car and went off the side of the road where no guardrail was present and plunged down a cliff. The car exploded killing Toivonen and his co-driver, Sergio Cresto, instantly. These events sealed the fate of Group B and the series would be banned by the FIA following the 1986 season.

For a taste of what it's like to ride in an 037, here is a clip of Stig Blomqvist demonstrating one on a dirt track:

-Paul