Mercedes-Benz is still riding a wave of worldwide euphoria following the revival of the classic 300SL with the launch of the mesmerising SLS AMG and its distinctive gull-wing doors.
Set for an equally spectacular revival is Lancia’s Stratos sports car. Produced in extremely limited numbers in the ‘70s (just 492 were made), the original Stratos HF went on to bag three World Rally Championships from 1974-‘76.
To coincide with the 40th anniversary of this iconic sports car, the all-new, road-going Stratos is strongly rumoured to be under development by Pininfarina.
Technical details are also rather sketchy, but the 4,3-litre V8 from Ferrari’s F430 looks to be a likely heart donor and THAT should be enough to launch the Stratos into, well, the stratosphere…
Design-wise, the new Stratos looks to be a real cracker. It has done away with the pop-up headlights of the original but retains the wedge-like, aggressively squat profile and rounded windscreen.
An apparent “cost-is-no-objective” development budget indicates that everything will be done to ensure the Stratos achieves instant classic status.
Expect production numbers to be kept to an absolute minimum and the price to scale exotic-car heights.
Then again, the new Stratos has all the makings of an authentic, exotic sports car.
Expect further details of the Stratos revival as they become available to us.