Group B rallying still represents the ultimate incarnation of going fast over rough ground. These fire-breathing beasts were outlawed due to simply being too fast and too dangerous. However, before these bad boys of motorsport were banished, several automotive legends were born. The Lancia 037 is one such hero, and now you could be the proud owner of the very first one.
Set to hit the auction block at RM Sotheby’s Milan auction on 15th June, chassis 037-001 represents a collectors dream. This isn’t any old 037 Stradale, although they are worth up to £700,000 these days, but the prototype vehicle used to engineer every car that came after. This is truly the genesis of a Lancia icon.
Enthusiasts will have already spotted a few ‘mend and make do’ panels and bodywork that hardly fits together, but that’s simply the nature of early prototype cars. Stitched together to work out what would eventually make the production Stradale specification, its workshop attitude is part of the charm. This is probably most evident within the cockpit where an array of DIY switchgear is proudly on display.
This car appears pristine and is presented in its original red colour, something returned after a stint in the iconic Martini livery. In fact, Lancia’s rally team actually used this car to research rally routes. Mounted centrally is a supercharged 2.0-litre engine that drives all four wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.
Back in the days of Group B rallying, the rules dictated that a minimum number of road legal cars had to be produced in order to homologate a racer. Car manufacturers soon worked out that they could simply detune the rally car and serve that to the public, enabling a ‘baked in’ advantage when it came to the motorsport machine. This was very much the case for the Lancia 037 Stradale.
The world of rallying changed irreversibly when Audi introduced the all-wheel drive Quattro. Its traction advantage forced every other team to follow suit, but Lancia stuck with its extremely lightweight rear-wheel drive machine. Against all of the odds, the 037 claimed victory in the World Rally Championship in 1983, beating its Quattro rival.
It’s difficult to value this 037 as it doesn’t have the rally experience of its siblings that did battle, but on the other hand, it is arguably one of the most historically significant examples of them all. We’ll have to wait and find out just how much someone is willing to pay in a few months time.
Read more
Keyword: Legendary Lancia 037 prototype heads to auction