Premium

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo - from rallying to the asphalt

This article was auto-translated. We apologize if some words are confusing or simply amusing. Would you like to help us improve?

Created on September 8, 2017

Reading time 7min

Written by:

Balz Schreier

Photos:

Michel Giulloux

John Pease flickr ashfordjohn

Sergio Febbraro

J. Clémentine (flickr j_clementine)

Archiv

Michel Giulloux

John Pease flickr ashfordjohn

Sergio Febbraro

J. Clémentine (flickr j_clementine)

Archiv

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo Gruppe 5 (1976) - 1000km Österreichring, Zeltweg 1976 - Der zweite je gebaute Stratos Turbo von Vittorio Brambilla und Carlo Facetti ging beim Rennen in Flammen auf und brannte komplett aus

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo Gruppe 5 (1976) - Giro d'Italia 1976 - Nummer #598 mit Facetti / Sodano

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Marlboro Lancia Stratos Turbo Nummer 526 (1974) - erster Einsatz des Turbomotors am Giro d'Italia 1974 mit Jean-Claude Andruet und Michèle “Biche” Espinos

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos - Der schnellste Stratos - Turbo-Prototyp mit 480 PS und zwei Turbos

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF (1975) - Giro d'Italia 1975 - Facetti/Garzoglio im normalen Gruppe-4-Lancia ohne Turbo

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo (1975) - Giro d'Italia 1975 - Nur Munari/Mannucci fuhren den Turbo geladenen Lancia Stratos

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF (1975) - Giro d'Italia 1975 - Facetti fuhr im Lancia ohne Turbo (rechts)

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo (1975) - Giro d'Italia 1975 - mit Facetti im Stratos Turbo mit der noch Gruppe-4-Karosserie

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo (1976) - 6h Mugello 1976 - Zum ersten Mal sah man den Gruppe 5 Stratos Turbo in Mugello am Donnerstagstraining fahren. Aufgrund Feuerausbruch musste das Renndebüt aber verschoben werden

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo Gruppe 5 (1976) - Imola 1976, damals noch Santerno genannt, im Rahmen des Giro d'Italia 1976, Nummer #598 mit Facetti / Sodano

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo (1976) - Le Mans 1976 - Das reine Frauenteam Aseptogyl bei den 24-Stunden-Rennen von Le Mans 1976

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos Turbo (1976) - Le Mans 1976 - Das Frauenteam Aseptogyl mit Fahrerinnen Christine Dacremont und Lella Lombardi

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos Turbo (1976) - Le Mans 1976 - Der nicht erfolgreiche Lancia des Frauenteams Aseptogyl und Fahrerinnen Christine Dacremont / Lella Lombardi

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos HF Turbo (1976) - der einzig überlebende Lancia Stratos Turbo, hier am Goodwood Festival of Speed 2005

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Rallye Monte Carlo 1975 - Munari/Manucci auf Lancia Stratos

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Der einzig verbleibende originale Lancia Stratos Turbo ist wahrscheinlich noch heute (2017) im Besitz vom Londoner Stratos-Sammler Christian Hrabalek - hier am Goodwood Festival of Speed 2005

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Lancia Stratos Turbo - Raffaele Pinto und Arnaldo Bernacchini während einer Nacht-Prüfung am Giro Automobilistico d'Italia 1976

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

You have only

1 out of 24

images seen in high resolution

Summary

Actually, the Lancia Stratos HF Turbo was not originally planned at all. The Lancia Stratos HF was built exclusively for rallying. When the Fiat Group then decided to use the Fiat 131 in rallying instead of the Lancia Stratos HF, Lancia got creative and ventured into Group 5 circuit racing on asphalt. With turbochargers, they hoped to achieve additional victories away from the gravel tracks. Our racing car article sheds light on the history of the turbocharged version of the Lancia Stratos HF and shows the car in absolutely rare pictures that you won't find anywhere else, neither in books nor on the internet.

This article contains the following chapters

How the road to Group 5 began with Turbo
The wolf in sheep's clothing was successful
Finishing touches from the Carlo Facetti hairdressing workshop
Bertone's long-tail full-engine version only from 1976
First victory thanks to sleepy competition? Giro d'Italia 1976
With female power at Le Mans
No more Stratos Turbo without Parkes
Lancia Stratos HF Turbo today?
Three Stratos Turbo replicas
List of all racing entries of the Lancia Stratos Turbo

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Originally, the Lancia Stratos HF Turbo was not planned at all. The normal Lancia Stratos HF with a transverse Dino 2.4-liter V6 engine was built exclusively for rallying, namely to break the dominance of the Porsche 911 and Renault Alpine A110. Lancia was successful with this and won the World Rally Championships in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Further victories were recorded in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1977 and 1979. However, this era of success then came to an end, as the Fiat Group preferred the Fiat 131 to the Stratos as a rally car. Not everyone at Lancia wanted to give up the Stratos just like that. An idea was presented to Lancia's marketing and management with the aim of achieving victories off the gravel tracks, i.e. in circuit races on asphalt. Ideally, this would allow Lancia to shine with victories in two highly competitive disciplines. Lancia welcomed the proposal and gave the green light for a Group 5 project.

Welcome to Zwischengas!