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Lancia New Stratos

More footage of the Lancia Stratos prototype

Lancia Stratos prototype

It’s been around a month since we’ve seen anything new on the Lancia Stratos revival. Here are a couple of new clips showing the car being put through its paces at the Balocco test track in Italy and at the Pininfarina wind tunnel.

The man at the wheel during the Balocco testing was former F1 driver Tiago Monteiro. So, this Michael Stoschek guy, isn’t mucking about. This is shaping up to be one serious bit of kit.

We could see the final production ready version launched next month at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, too. But don’t get too excited, there’s likely to be just 25 of these Ferrari F430 powered rockets.

[Thanks to Richard for the tip]

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Lancia New Stratos

New Lancia Stratos filmed during track development

New Lancia Stratos

Michael Stoschek is a lucky man. Not only does he have the cash to convince Pininfarina to design and develop a new 21st century Lancia Stratos, he has also had some time behind the wheel, as this video shows. The footage was filmed at Balocco, Italy and it is understood a Porsche 911 GT3 was on hand used as benchmark testing.

It’s still unclear if Stoschek will be keeping all the fun for himself, or if he will commission a run of 25 cars to share with the world. Perhaps the video you can see after the break gives us a clue on that front. However, the only language spoken during the footage is German. So, if you are able to translate any of the words, especially the ones that aren’t new, Stratos, Ferrari, Pininfarina and Turin please do so.

Oh, do they explain how they have managed to make that F430 engine sound like a truck?

[Source: World Car Fans]

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Lancia

Lancia Delta Integrale photoshoot

Lancia Delta Integrale

The chaps over at My Car Portal have brought us another cracking set of images, this time of the Lancia Delta Integrale. The rally starlet was recently voted the hottest hatch of them all by UK readers of Autocar. So why not click on the image above and see the images for yourself.

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Lancia New Stratos

Lancia prepares to enter new Stratosphere

New Lancia Stratos

In the motoring world the words Lancia Stratos ignite many fond memories. Huge rally success etched the model into immortality. Imagine, then, the good will that would accompany an all-new Stratos. The response would be, well, stratospheric.

Indeed, this is exactly what we are witnessing now that news has emerged that a one-off Stratos recreation is on the way to making a bona fide comeback.

Back in July a Stratos inspired test mule was spotted in action at Fiat’s test track. It certainly got tongues wagging, but it was understood the car was simply a unique Pininfarina creation made at the request of wealthy German entrepreneur Michael Stoschek. However, it now appears the Stratos is back.

Underneath the skin you will find a fair bit of Ferrari F430 architecture and chassis components. This includes the free-revving 4.3 litre V8 complete with more than 500bhp (375kW). An all carbon fibre body helps keep weight down to around 1240kg. Already, there could be as many as five new Stratos prototypes running around. You want one, don’t you!

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the original Stratos and if Stoschek gets his way there could be a limited run of 25 or so of this new 21st century Stratos.

Until more concrete details are confirmed you can keep an eye on this website while developments unfold.

[via Evo & Italiaspeed]

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Lancia

Lancia Delta Integrale – read all about it!

Lancia Delta Integrale

Knowing there are many fans of the Lancia Delta Integrale among the AUSmotive readership I figured you’d like to know about a new book that has just been released by UK publishing house Veloce. Written by Graham Robson Lancia Delta 4WD/Integrale details the story of one world rallying’s most admired cars. The book totals 128 pages and is available now. More after the break.

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Lancia

Lancia Delta Integrale voted best hot hatch ever

Lancia Delta integrale

According to Autocar readers the Lancia Delta Integrale is the hottest hatch of all. The poll opened in April and 3500 votes were registered. Following the Lancia in second was the Peugeot 205 GTi, with the Mk1 Ford Focus RS in third.

Chas Hallett, editor said “It’s no surprise Autocar readers have voted for the Lancia, when launched back in the 80’s it very quickly acquired a large and enthusiastic fan base founded on its rally success. Interestingly, it is the oldest car in the Top 10 – proving age is no barrier to desire.”

Except it wasn’t the oldest car in the top 10, because in fourth place on the poll was the 1970s Mk1 Golf GTI.

The full top 10 list is available after the jump with the Autocar press release.  In the comments section why don’t tell us which you think is the best hot hatch ever.

As a special bonus, too, there’s a bunch of Lancia Delta images to help you reminisce when it was hip to be square. Not all images are strictly HF Integrale models, but, when you have to trawl the archives beggars can’t be choosers.

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Lancia

We can be heroes

Lancia Delta Integrale

Over at Evo there’s a nice story from Stephen Dobie about meeting his automotive hero. In this case it was the iconic and super, super awesome Lancia Delta HF Integrale. It’s a car that I have yearned for as well. Somehow or other Lancia arranged a mish-mash of awkward boxes to create one of the coolest cars of its era.

What they also made was one of the most effective rally weapons ever produced. And in those Martini Racing colours, well, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

So, what is the Lancia actually like to drive. Today, in the 21st century?

According to Dobie, “It’s slow (my Clio long-termer felt like a rocket on the return trip home), it has no brakes (there was a ‘disconcerting’ moment approaching my first roundabout…) and its list of idiosyncrasies is hilariously long. Not being able to read the speedo no matter how I positioned the seat was a highlight.”

But in true hero fashion those idiosyncrasies weren’t enough to deter him from drawing this conclusion, “Yep, it’s flawed, but it’s fantastic. I’ve met my hero, and I love it.”

I’ve been through a similar process recently after the purchase of a 1980 Mk1 Golf GTI. I hold the same opinion as Dobie, too, that my hero in a modern day context makes little sense. But as a driving experience it rewards like no modern car can. So, leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and tell us what is your automotive hero? One that, if it were for sale today, you would consider buying.

[Source: Evo]

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Alfa Romeo Ferrari Fiat Lamborghini Lancia

Auto Italia 2010

Auto Italia, Canberra, April 2010

It was a perfect autumn day in Canberra today. Ideal weather for the annual Auto Italia car show, then. Every year Italian car owners and enthusiasts gather in the nation’s capital to show off their shining metal and this year the lawns adjacent to the National Library of Australia provided the ideal setting.

Of course, cars are much more than shiny metal, and the perfect example of this are marques like Alfa Romeo, de Tomaso, Fiat, Ferrari, Lancia, Lamborghini and Maserati. All were represented at Auto Italia 2010 today. Indeed, this year the featured marque for the Italian show was Alfa Romeo in honour of Alfa’s 100th anniversary. Alfa owners obliged by showcasing some truly beautiful cars, some incredibly rare, all incredibly cherished.

You can catch a glimpse of today’s show by checking out the photos after the jump. More info on Auto Italia in Canberra can be found at their official website.