The Lancia Stratos HF (HF stands for "high fidelity") came to be built as nothing less than a series-built competition car, launched as Lancia's entry in the FIA world rally championship in 1972 and virtually unbeatable until 1975 when it was retired to give the lowly Fiat 131 a chance at competition glory. The Stratos was street-legal merely to satisfy the FIA rulebook.
For the Miura and Countach, Gandini was charged with only the styling; for the Stratos, Bertone gave him the whole ball of wax from mechanical layout to the final form. What Gandini gave Lancia was a midengine layout built around a central monocoque with bolt-on space frames front and rear, fully adjustable suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and a transversely mounted DOHC Ferrari Dino V6 with a five-speed transaxle.
Most important, Gandini also delivered a simple, flip-up fiberglass body with a brutally stunning shape that makes any other rally car look decidedly average.
Chris Hrabalek, a London-based automotive designer who owns the prototype, states," In 1971, the idea of the midengine road car was still exotic. The 1968 Ferrari 246 GT Dino had only recently made such a thing practical on the street and Chevrolet was busily exploring the midengine concept for the Corvette. But Gandini single-handedly yanked the whole midengine idea into reality with the Stratos, an angry rejection of the glossy GTs of the 1960s”.
Even now, no other midengine car looks so modern as the Lancia Stratos. Its shape still has appeal, as Hrabalek proved when he drew rave reviews with his Fenomenon NewStratos, a concept car for an evolutionary interpretation of the Stratos idea that was unveiled at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show.
Factory figures quote the Stradale's 2.4-liter V6 to produce 190 horsepower at 7,400 rpm (the rally cars made 240 hp or so) and makes 169 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm, so the car is good for 0 to 60 mph in the sub-7s.
This rare Lancia Stratos is one of those exceptional finds one only rarely comes across and is one of 492 Stratos HF Stradales to have left the marque’s Chivasso plant. The majority of the examples to have been produced were either modified for rally use or beat up and restored, however, this time-warp example goes against the grain having been kept original and unmolested throughout its life, a real “reference car”.
Upon inspection the car is found to retain its original engine, gearbox, body, brakes, suspension, exterior paint, exhaust, wheels, and exterior stickers. This car has never been standing for a long time, it’s just been used very little but on a regular basis by all its previous owners.
Inside the car, the seats are finished in a stunning tan suede leather upholstery and the carpets present in excellent condition throughout the inside.
On the outside, the car has been found to be finished in its original paint, with only the passenger side lip on the rocker panel has been touched up once a very, very long time ago. Of course, there is plenty of patina and stone chips as one would find on a 40-year-old car.
Again, thanks to its originality, the documentation of the car is unlike seen on most Stratos’. Accompanied by the original service book, owner’s manual and even the rare roadside assistance brochure. The car is currently fitted with a set of replacement wheels, though the originals accompany car.
There are indeed some Stradale Stratos’ known in the world with fewer kilometres on the speedo but most of them have been restored or have even had to be fully rebuilt.
Having been held by a total of just five owners in its near 50-year life, this car was bought into the UK and subsequently registered in early 2015 when DK Engineering sourced the car for its current owner and have stored since on their behalf.
Since arrival in the UK, the car has been meticulously maintained and serviced frequently with no expense spared. Most notably, in 2018, almost £15,000 was spent on the car ensuring the car was running and maintained as correctly as possible.
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