02 Mar 05
There have been many calls for Lancia to revive the Stratos, its legendary rally-winning super-coupe of the 1970s. Problem is, Lancia and the Fiat Group do not even own the rights to the name any more: "Stratos" is, in fact, owned by a London-based automotive design consultancy called Fenomenon, which has now presented its very own new Stratos. The dream project of Austrian-born Christian Hrabalek, a lifelong Stratos fan and owner of no less than nine historically-important examples, it has been developed with input from rally driver Sandro Munari, who had many successes in the original.
This new Stratos is not a potential rally car, however, but a usable road-going supercar designed specifically with developing nations in mind, able to cope with poor roads and a lack of supportive infrastructure. Styled by a team of 10 professional designers including Serge Porscher (responsible for the rather unsupercar-like Citroen Pluriel) but overseen by 27-year-old Hrabalek, currently studying for an MA in automotive design at the Royal College of Art, its appearance is said to have been inspired by a Lear jet. It has gullwing-like doors, opening from around a split front windscreen, which are claimed to allow for very easy access, particularly for older drivers.
The apple-green prototype on show in Geneva is fitted with the 425bhp V8 from the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, and is theoretically capable of over 210mph and 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds. It weighs less than 950kg, thanks to a spaceframe chassis construction and composite carbonfibre panels. It sits on 18-inch wheels up front and 19-inchers to the rear, and has been built by D3, a subsidiary firm of the Pininfarina group which has previously made prototypes of cars including the Renault Avantime, BMW Z8, MINI and Citroen Pluriel. It is said to be entirely production-feasible.
The Stratos project is entirely independent from Lancia itself and the Fiat group; clearly a wealthy and well-connected aspiring designer, Hrabalek has so far raised funding from private investors to help bring the prototype this far to the show. Whether it becomes a production reality or remains as a showpiece and calling-card for his newly-established consultancy, Fenomenon, will probably depend on how it is received here in Geneva and whether any rich Swiss sign up for the revival.
