RE: Lancia 037: Time For Tea?
Friday 10th July 2015
In Lancia's enviable back catalogue of supreme rally cars, the 037 is arguably less well remembered than its peers. Not as successful as the Delta, as iconic as the Stratos or as pretty as a Fulvia.
Lancia 037: Time For Tea?
A tribute vid for the last RWD car to win the WRC because... well, why not?
But it was the last car to win a World Rally Championship with two-wheel drive. Which is pretty cool. That Lancia beat Audi to the 1983 Constructors' title is all the more remarkable.
Furthermore, while it may lack the incredible beauty of a Fulvia or a Stratos, the 037 remains a very pretty rally car. Imagine the joy of sitting on a stage waiting for this, a Quattro, a 205 T16 and a Ford RS200. Exciting times they must have been, and here's a brief retrospective to celebrate them. There's plenty more if you want to watch them...
See the vid here.
[Lead image: LAT]
Discussion
vrooom said:
they dont make exciting car like this anymore.
Someone has had a go at replicating one of rallying's most exciting cars (I noticed this advertisement when perusing a rally car sale site):http://www.rallycarsforsale.net/clas/index.php?ct=...
PS I have no connection with the vendor, but thought you may be interested in the link. I cannot recall anyone making an 037 before).
My dad had one of these. He had a "thing" about rally cars in general, and Lancia's in particular. This was long before anyone really cared about them. So he was fortunate enough to own a Stratos, an 037 and an S4, concurrently. In many ways, the 037 was the sweet spot. The Stratos was ( and still is ) a thing of rare beauty, but it was very crude inside and the handling was a bit twitchy. I loved the S4 , but it was conversely a complex beast and it was very difficult to source parts ( a specialist had once said that if the ecu goes, you basically have to bin the car ).
The 037 didn't look that special at the time ( no one knew what it was, and most thought is was some sort of Beta Monte Carlo kit car on steroids ). Wasn't that fast, but handled very sweetly - had a nice balance to it. Not exactly comfy inside, but miles better than the Stratos. He changed his cars quite regularly - I remember when he came to sell it, he could hardly give it away. How times change....
The 037 didn't look that special at the time ( no one knew what it was, and most thought is was some sort of Beta Monte Carlo kit car on steroids ). Wasn't that fast, but handled very sweetly - had a nice balance to it. Not exactly comfy inside, but miles better than the Stratos. He changed his cars quite regularly - I remember when he came to sell it, he could hardly give it away. How times change....
Bigchiefmuffin said:
My dad had one of these. He had a "thing" about rally cars in general, and Lancia's in particular. This was long before anyone really cared about them. So he was fortunate enough to own a Stratos, an 037 and an S4, concurrently. In many ways, the 037 was the sweet spot. The Stratos was ( and still is ) a thing of rare beauty, but it was very crude inside and the handling was a bit twitchy. I loved the S4 , but it was conversely a complex beast and it was very difficult to source parts ( a specialist had once said that if the ecu goes, you basically have to bin the car ).
The 037 didn't look that special at the time ( no one knew what it was, and most thought is was some sort of Beta Monte Carlo kit car on steroids ). Wasn't that fast, but handled very sweetly - had a nice balance to it. Not exactly comfy inside, but miles better than the Stratos. He changed his cars quite regularly - I remember when he came to sell it, he could hardly give it away. How times change....
It's posts like that which make me glad to be on PH. Superb stuffThe 037 didn't look that special at the time ( no one knew what it was, and most thought is was some sort of Beta Monte Carlo kit car on steroids ). Wasn't that fast, but handled very sweetly - had a nice balance to it. Not exactly comfy inside, but miles better than the Stratos. He changed his cars quite regularly - I remember when he came to sell it, he could hardly give it away. How times change....
The people didn't realise what an iconic period in automotive and rallying history they were living in at the time.
Maybe in another 30 odd years people will look back and miss internal combustion racing, once it's all gone electric. Group B will be nothing but a memory.
I'll never tire of watching this old footage, it keeps it alive!
Maybe in another 30 odd years people will look back and miss internal combustion racing, once it's all gone electric. Group B will be nothing but a memory.
I'll never tire of watching this old footage, it keeps it alive!
I blagged rides in a couple of ex works examples in the deep past. They're relatively modest in terms of outright grunt but the perfect balance shone through.
Lord knows how the drivers survived 80s length rallies in them though. Five minutes of blatting around an industrial estate left you saturated with sweat.
There have been quite a few recreations. I've seen a fair few stunted examples based on Beta Montecarlos. You really need to go bespoke to get the right look. By far the most impressive is the scratch built example in NZ.
Lord knows how the drivers survived 80s length rallies in them though. Five minutes of blatting around an industrial estate left you saturated with sweat.
There have been quite a few recreations. I've seen a fair few stunted examples based on Beta Montecarlos. You really need to go bespoke to get the right look. By far the most impressive is the scratch built example in NZ.
bloomen said:
By far the most impressive is the scratch built example in NZ.
Its a great thing to see in action, especially as I was too young to remember the Group B era. 
20140511-Otago-226 by Ben, on Flickre21Mark said:
There's a chap who regularly uses his in the Crystal Palace sprint each May Bank Holiday. A lovely thing. I know nostalgia is probably playing a part here but weren't there just way more cool cars back then?
The reality on the roads is endless grey blobs, mainly german have taken over. Variety is the spice of life. Hope that will change in the future. (nothing against nice german cars though!)Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff