Lancia 037 Stradale
TIPPED BY: DONALD OSBORNE
‘It’s one of my favourite cars,’ says Donald, ‘though it’s also completely crazy. Sure, it’s a homologation special in road-car form but it’s impossible on the street. Think a Stratos is hard in traffic?’
It’s a roadgoing Group B rally car. Rather than relying on eye-popping turbo boost, the 037’s designers opted for poise and lightness, shifting the Fiat-lancia twin-cam behind the driver and using the Abarth Volumex supercharger for a relatively modest 250-280bhp in competition form, 205bhp in Stradale (street) versions. Just over 200 were sold, allowing the 037 to win the World Rally Championship in 1983, getting close in 1984, ’85 and ’86 too.
‘The 037 Stradale was never exactly cheap and they were rarely on the market,’ says Donald, ‘but now interest has exploded in Lancia’s rally program from that time. And the cars that were not converted to be competition cars are the ones people want. A mediocre competition history in local club events is much less desirable than a perfectly preserved road car with no race history.’
So, an expensive ornament for a well-heeled WRC fan, or something you’d actually use? Donald would certainly get behind the wheel, and he feels that the 037’s hardcore adrenaline rush is still the best reason to buy one.
‘It seems to me that there are more and more people in the market looking for cars that deliver something that other cars don’t. The 037 is so direct – you know you’ll have to drive it and you’ll get so much from that. A Daytona, for example, always wants to be pushed, but an 037 is even more demanding and you expect this when you climb in – it’s certainly not a car to go get an ice cream in. Your commitment has to be 100%’
For anyone seeking the ultimate driving machine (no apologies to BMW), expect a good example with perfect provenance to fetch £400k-£500k at auction. The car in our pictures is probably as good as any in the world – it was sold by Girardo & Co in the UK last year for a figure in that range but Girardo says it would be confident of achieving more than half a million if offering it in 2021.
Even Donald is surprised by how fast they’ve risen, ‘I started off thinking I would select this car for the £250k category, but soon saw that wasn’t going to be possible!’
‘This is not a car to go get an ice cream in. Your commitment has to be 100%’