Lancia Stratos (1973–1978)

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The first car designed from a blank sheet to win rallies — and it did, three years running.

Before the Stratos, rally cars were adapted from ordinary saloons. Lancia threw that idea out and built a car for one job only: winning rallies. The result, evolved from Bertone's radical wedge-shaped Stratos Zero concept of 1970, was tiny, mid-engined and light — a short, wide two-seater that looked like nothing else on a special stage.

Its engine was a gift from Ferrari: the 2.4-litre Dino V6, making around 190 hp in road trim and up to 320 hp in full rally tune. Compact and light, the Stratos was devastatingly effective, winning the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976 in the hands of drivers like Sandro Munari. Around 492 road cars were built to make it legal.

The Stratos proved that a purpose-built machine could rewrite a sport. Every bespoke rally and race car since owes it something.

Written and fact-checked for every.autos · every claim checked against the sources below · 2026-07

Sources (2)

Background

The Lancia Stratos HF, known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rallying, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. It was highly successful in competition, winning the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976; as well as winning the 1974 Targa Florio, winning the Tour de France Automobile five times and the Giro d'Italia automobilistico three times.

Text adapted from “Lancia Stratos” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07

Production years

1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978

Sources

Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗ WIKIDATA confidence: high