In the rearview mirror: Uncompromising and radical on the road

Sandro Munari was dressed completely inappropriately as he waited for his passenger in the magnificent hall of the famous Hotel de Paris. His racing overalls were out of keeping with the luxurious surroundings. But as a world rally champion, working for the brand hadn't been his sideline since 1975. He greeted his guest with a handshake and led him through the large revolving door down the hotel stairs to the Lancia Stratos - also a foreign body among the Bentleys, Rolls Royces and Ferraris around the Casino de Monte Carlo.

First the helmet, then Munari helps his passenger to get to grips with the four-point seat belt in the narrow cockpit, climbs in himself and starts the four-cylinder engine. There is no roar, only a restrained growl, as the flat body, spectacularly painted in the colors of the Italian airline Alitalia, burrows through the mass of big cars from the city center onto a winding narrow road high into the first chain of mountains.

His co-driver had expected something different from a world rally champion. He talked the unexpectedly gentle man up to it. Munari pointed down the next left turn. At the bottom of the hill was a police car, with a flic next to it, keeping an eye on the Stratos with binoculars. "They are waiting," Munari laughed, so he obviously didn't want to give himself an expensive exposure. But after the next bend, off they went, as crosswise as the width of the road allowed and with no apparent concern for oncoming traffic. Rally world champion, after all - that became abundantly clear, thanks to Munari, mid-engine and rear-wheel drive.

Exactly 50 years ago, Munari and his co-driver Mario Mannucci had won the 1973 Tour de France Automobile, then one of the most demanding asphalt rallies in Europe with over 1500 kilometers of special stages. Following this first international victory, the factory team entered the Lancia Stratos in the World Championship, where it won the title three times in a row from 1974 to 1976. In Germany, the Lancia Stratos caused a sensation in the 1978 season, with future world champion Walter Röhrl winning rounds of the German championship.

"An uncompromising and highly efficient vehicle with design elements that served as inspiration for us in the design of future Lancia vehicle models," says Luca Napolitano, CEO of the Lancia brand, highlighting the significance of the Lancia Stratos. The 50th anniversary of the first victory has now been celebrated at the historic "Circuit de Remparts" race track in Angoulême, western France.

The Lancia Stratos is considered the first car in the history of rallying that was not based on a large-scale production model. It was designed for the sole purpose: Win rallies. Everything about the Stratos was designed with rallying in mind: the wedge-shaped body with its wide flared fenders and large windshield, the completely hinged front and rear ends, and the engine positioned behind the cockpit and derived from the V6 powerplant of the Ferrari 246 Dino.

The cockpit was also revolutionary. It offers space for only two bucket seats. Special recesses were provided in the doors for storing racing helmets. The so-called "color blocking" of the interior plays with strong contrasts by using the colors blue, red and yellow. Style elements such as the round taillights, the spoiler on the rear roof edge and the color scheme in the cockpit gave the Lancia Stratos a futuristic design for its time, which is still relevant today.

And so it is no coincidence that the Lancia Stratos is one of nine of the brand's historic models that served as inspiration for the development of future Lancia production vehicles. A first example of the dialogue between the past and the future is the current Lancia Pu+Ra HPE concept car, which with its all-electric powertrain, design and ambience is a model for upcoming Lancia models. The Pu+Ra HPE also proves to be a tribute to the uncompromising and radical side of the brand, for example, with its round tail lights from the Lancia Stratos. (aum)