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    REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    One of the most legendary cars from the rich pages of automotive history is al set to be reborn, as a prototype, that closely mirrors a modern day reinterpretation of the fearsome Lancia Stratos, has been caught testing in secret at Fiat's Balocco test track.

    When it was first shown as a radical prototype at the Turin Motor Show in 1970 the Stratos stunned and shocked onlookers in equal measure and the rallying exploits of the production version saw it go on to enter automotive folk law. The Stratos immediately won on its rally debut following homologation and it sealed world championship titles as the Ferrari-powered sports car embarked on a half decade long winning spree and it played a key role in building the modern-day reputation of Lancia that was won on the world's most important rally tracks.

    Now exactly four decades later the Stratos is set to be reborn, the original Bertone lines and thinking clearly visible and still the focal point of the project but now sharpened and updated to reflect the passage of time and the onset of a new generation of design language. All the emotive design cues that turned the Stratos into a genuine automotive icon can be clearly seen: the wheelarches cutting into the bonnet, the curved windshield and wrap-around side glass, the engine cover and features and the flip-up rear spoiler. The flush-fit new headlights are new reflecting the end of the era of pop-up units and the turn signal indicators are the latest fashion in LEDs.

    The two 'spy' photographs were taken at the Fiat Group test track at Balocco near Milan on June 21 when this prototype was undergoing secret testing. Very little is known about the ambitious project but Italiaspeed has learnt that it has in fact been privately funded by a European industrialist. The trademark sloping bonnet betrays a badge recess that is of a very similar shape to Lancia's traditional emblem meaning this new sports car could well be set to carry the famous marque's name once again, which will raise the hope of Lancisti across the world, as is the fact that it has been in test action at Balocco.
     

    italiaspeed

     


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

     


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Wow that's great, love to see it back in that 70s blue!! 


    --

    indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

     


    --

    2007 987S, KW v3 1964 Type 1


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Very chic and a faithful repro. of  the original.  It does not seem retro if the original can still turn heads.....    Only change I would make?   The headlights should be round to better match the rear lights - as it is now the front and rear don't quite have the same conversation. 


    --

    2010 Audi S5,  2002 M Coupe


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    The car was ugly in the first place and still is in the retro version.

    Just the Ford GT style rear looks nice!


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    I don't think this car is ugly, it's quite nice actually.


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    ok... I might have to add - its ugly "in my opinion"


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    kinda looks like an X1/9 taken to an extreme


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Rumor has it it is a one-off from Pininfarina for a private client. Apparently to be mounted on a shortened F430 chassis.

    http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/08/rumormill-lancia-stratos-is-a-custom-pininfarina-designed-one-o/

     


    --

    indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Less than a fortnight after the story first broke, the dramatic new Lancia Stratos project is revealled today, totally undisguised, the images taken during a testing session at the Balocco circuit, portraying a truly stunning supercar that is every bit in the mould of the iconic and hugely admired original. The three new photos come from German magazine Auto Bild which has also published some further information as more details of this ambitious project, coming almost exactly on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the unveiling of the Stratos "Zero" concept, gradually drip out.

    Forty years ago the Marcello Gandini-penned, Bertone-stamped "Zero" concept shocked the automotive industry and over the last week-and-a-half this new project has drawn global attention like few Lancias have during the intervening period. We understand that the three images were also taken during this prototype's test session at the Fiat Group's Balocco test track near Milan on June 21 (as were the two grainy shots we published last week) but more information on that test has now emerged, including that the test driver on the day was former F1 pilot Tiago Monteiro, and that the test was adjudged a huge success.

    From that "Zero" show car of 1970, and then the new-from-the-ground-up Stratos HF Prototipo (1971), the legendary production Stratos was born, again crafted by Bertone, and with the supercar destined primarily for competition use, 500 examples had to be built to satisfy homologation requirements. Lancia never kept accurate build records but 492 units is the accepted production figure.

    Now it is fast forward four decades. More detailed information on the new project has been revealled today, most sensationally that the new Stratos is powered by a production Ferrari V8 engine and this provides one of the biggest pointers yet to the keen adherence to history of this project as the original Stratos was fitted for production with the Ferrari "Dino" V6 engine. The apparent use of Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano-drawn rear light units on the prototype at Balocco adds to the sourcing of Maranello components along with the CCM brake units that may well also be a Ferrari item.

    For the first time the rear of the car has been glimpsed and here the design language is once again firmly in the Stratos mould with the single round light units, a body-moulded jutting spoiler, moulded registration plate recess, and twin exhaust outlets that now exit on either side of a modern-day integrated rear aerodynamic-inducing splitter section. The rear end of the supercar also gets an integrated high-level brake light and a neatly-executed design around the fitting of the rear window which is part of the enveloping clamshell.

    This careful adherence to Lancia tradition complements other similarly inspired cues on the car such as the distinct curves of the side windows' outline shape, the large front radiator grille and positioning of the indicators (although they are now LED units). The passing of time has seen the original's "pop-up" headlights outlawed but the new units have been well thought out and almost mimic that "flap" cue and at the base very slightly dig into the bodywork. The prototype's wheels are also a distinct reinterpretation of the original Stratos' rally wheels (they were most famously finished in "yellow" on the factory rally cars) most notably they are now twin spoked whereas the spokes were solid on the original which had to withstand the constant crushing impact of tough rally stages. The wheels' single central locking hub nut arrangement can be seen on the prototype and is yet another thoroughly modern feature that has been crafted in. More modernity can be seen in the aerodynamic front lip spoiler which separates the new car's styling apart from the original and the interesting positioning of the fog lamp units. The prototype also shows a clear front cover recess for the "Lancia" badge.

    All the "visible" bodywork components of the car are in carbon-fibre, the "clamshells" (which appear from the images to open exactly as they did on the original model), doors and other body panels, while the extremely-high level of finish implies that these have been taken directly from moulds, lending weight to information that the car is destined for a limited production run. Italiaspeed also understands that this is one of several prototypes that have been completed so far, possibly as many as five have been built, and this ties in with a project that has seen at least three full-size mock-up models created as three Italian design houses fought over the brief.

    Apparently the Stratos prototype was "sensational" during this test programme at the demanding Balocco proving ground, considerably exceeding the benchmarks put down for the day's test in every area, not least the handling of this lightweight and short wheel base car. The adherence to the original Stratos' philosophy of being designed as a competition car first and foremost, and therefore minimalism and weight saving were key objectives of Bertone's design team four decades ago, can be seen in the very clean and simple door catch design while the lock barrel is located several inches away.

    Italiaspeed also understands that the original car's legendary "helmet pocket" feature has been carried over to the new car, so a crisp, racing-style cockpit can also be expected. The results of the test and the information so far all adds weight to a project that appears to have been in the development stage for around four years, and by the parameters involved, has been firmly in the "money no object" category.

    The rebirth of the Stratos comes after many major milestones in the forty-year history of the much-loved sports car, which kicked off in 1970 with the development of the Stratos HF Prototipo, a car that made its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971, while the Lancia Stratos HF Stradale arrived in 1975. That car came, saw, stunned and conquered before being consigned to the pages of history. Then there was more than a two decade gap before, and almost fittingly, eccentric and outrageous Swiss stylist Franco Sbarro reinterpreted the iconic sports car with his "Ionos" concept which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1997. Italian design and engineering company Stola unveiled its "S81", a thoroughly modern reinterpretation of the Stratos, at the Turin Motor Show in 2000. Five years later leading Stratos collector Chris Hrabalek unveiled the "New Stratos" concept, developed by his Fenomenon design company, at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. 2010 is the 40th anniversary of the Stratos.

    We can also clarify our story earlier this week that former Pininfarina and Bertone designer, and now design chief at newly revitalised Saab, Jason Castriota, one of the world's top automotive designers responsible for the Maserati Birdcage 75th and Maserati GranTurismo amongst others, was responsible for the design of the new Stratos. In fact we can confirm that Castriota was involved during the earlier gestation stages of the project but that involvement has long since ceased.

    in italiaspeed

    Well done Tiago Monteiro


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    I like it a LOT!


    --

    There is no try. Just do.


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    I hope they build that. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

     

     


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    New pics and a new website www.new-stratos.com/

     

    Carbon detail.JPG1281783006031Front os.JPG1281783018684Rear os.JPGNew vs old.JPGNew vs old side view.JPGNew vs old openings.JPGNew vs old front.JPGNew vs old rear.JPG

     


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

     Whoa that looks amazing ! love the wheels. It must be so much fun to drive.


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Enmanuel:

     Whoa that looks amazing ! love the wheels. It must be so much fun to drive.

     +1 Smiley


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    absolutely staining car with a brilliant past.Lancia Stratos was allays on the list of my feivret cars


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Personally, I don't like it too much. The design is not clean enough, it looks more like an exact copy with a japanese touch. Not my thing, sorry.


    --

    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

     Some of the details look great. For example, love the back, the wheel arches and the wheels. But put together it looks wrong and more like a Lotus Evora based kit car.


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Yes, something is "wrong" with the looks, I can't explain it. 


    --

    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    RC:

    Yes, something is "wrong" with the looks, I can't explain it. 


    I agree- probably the platypus front end - ...but the stubby original was never a beauty queen either but  looked like nothing else ...looked like a Hot Wheels  toy come to life . I liked it then and now !

    These days , cars are designed by committee /marketing/focus groups and look it - best current example is the BMW 5GT warthog.

     

     


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    RC:

    Yes, something is "wrong" with the looks, I can't explain it. 

    The 2010 version is just bigger, fatter, heavier than the 1970s original.  Smiley

    It's not just humans who are tending towards obesity. Smiley


    --

    fritz


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    This particular car is said to be funded by a German customer, namely Michael Stoschek who has been in charge at the family-run Brose automotive supplier. There doesn´t seem to be many influence of the typical management or controlling panel. The car is announced to weight 1200 kg which is about 200 more than the original one, providing more than twice the power.

    The car does not have the same crisp lines as the original and the Fenomenon concept but maybe this was intended. As Stoschek is said to have invested in Fenomenon back then I am quite surprised that they haven´t used more styling cues from that particular concept car. The part that most people might have an issue with should be the front overhang and its proportion to the remaining part of the car.


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Ferdie:

    The part that most people might have an issue with should be the front overhang and its proportion to the remaining part of the car.

    I see what you mean. But twice the power means much bigger radiators and air ducts up front to get rid of all that extra heat. 


    --

    fritz


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    I agree. Forgot to add that such a massive overhang should be due to technical reasons as no designer would add so much volume without reason.

    Only engineers do that...


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Ferdie:

    I agree. Forgot to add that such a massive overhang should be due to technical reasons as no designer would add so much volume without reason.

    Only engineers do that...

     Ah, yes. Engineers always do things without reason.   Smiley


    --

    fritz


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    I should´ve rephrased that. Now you think I have joined the other two...

     


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Ferdie:

    I should´ve rephrased that. Now you think I have joined the other two...

     

    The other two? 

    You mean, gone over to the dark side? Smiley


    --

    fritz


    Re: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND - Stratos

    Mr. Nick B. and Senor G.


     
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