European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Lancia Strat Osan All time favorite a fax Sov. S a Jwj  i a it \ i it Volt a. W Quot Vav of spy is a it Quot a it s. A it 4 Asa a a Ltd Quot v a jux 3sa>&&>ti?-.5 -1 a a no of of r a if it Vrr >v4 a v w a tvs.  a a it it. A a a Quot a a. A a amps Randy Barnott 4 during the Many years that we be been writing about motor sports and doing car test reports for the stars and stripes one question always arises Quot what is the Best car you be Ever driven a now that today s car Corner column is the final one it s time we answer. But we must hedge on the Quot Best car Quot category and say Quot favorite car Quot instead. It s the Only Way to put it because it is impossible to select one car As the Quot Best Quot Overall. The Only fair Way to select a Quot Best Quot car is to break things Down into categories a such As Best sports car Best Sedan Best coup6, Best station Wagon Best four wheel drive vehicle and so on. And Don t forget that Price should definitely play a. Parta a a a     a a. A a a after All it s relatively easy to design and build a sports car or luxury Sedan that costs $90,000 or $100,000. Our admiration has always gone to the design team that is told to create the Best sports car of Sedan possible for less than $20,000. And then does so. So while it s not possible to name a Quot Best car Quot from the 305 weve tested Over the years it is certainly no problem to name our favorite. And that would be the italian made Lancia Stratos rally car. We had the pleasure of driving one in 1976, and the memory will always remain vivid. The Ferrari powered Stratos dominated world championship rallying from october 1974 through the 1977 season and in the hands of the great italian Driver Sandro Munari it won the Monte Carlo rally three years in a Row. The Stratos won a total of 17 world championship events and gave Lancia three straight world rally titles. Dynamic in appearance the Little Stratos created More interest than Many a formula one racing car in its Day and with Good reason. It started life in 1970 As the Stratos it a Road going Quot dream car Quot created by the italian stylist Bertone. The Lancia firm saw this dream machine As a potential replacement for its aging Fulvia rally Coupe and decided to dec lip the Bertone Model strictly for compete Ion. What eventually emerged became the Lancia Stratos much revised from the original Model and powered by a Ferrari v-6 Dino engine of 2.4-liter capacity. The engine was mounted transversely and located in mid position. The rally car weighed Only 1,870 pounds while the engine in Competition tune turned out a bit Over 300 horsepower. Under its fibreglass skin was a steel Monocoque construction of great strength and rigidity plus a Roll Over bar integral with the Structure. It was a purposefully to it a St w a if Pic a amp the Lancia Stratos Barnett s favorite test car from several angles including at top the full Competition version driven in. The 1975 Monte Carlo rally. Designed rally car and its production was strictly limited. But there was also another More widely produced version for Public Sale and in this Model the four Cam Ferrari v-6 engine developed 190 he at 7,000 revs. Redline was 8,000. Carburetion was by three two barrel webers the car weighed Only 2,156 pounds not much More than its limited production counterpart. It was this Stratos a a 1975 Model a that we had the pleasure of checking out in Italy and on Swiss and German roads including the Majestic curb urging racing circuit. The car was owned by Marlboro which was just getting into rally racing sponsorship in those Days. Normally a Marlboro Stratos was impossible to come by for testing purposes but our racing and rally coverage in that Era helped snare a Stratos test. To drive this car was truly an experience. It was strictly a no frills two seater with a Stark Interior and Only a few vital gauges on the dash. The door panels ballooned out at the Bottoms to provide room for two crash helmets. The acceleration from the magnificent Dino Ferrari engine was instantaneous and our Best time from Zero to 100 Kilometres per hour 62 Mph was 5.9 seconds. Top spend was a slice Over 150 Miles per hour. With a wheelbase of Only 75.6 inches and a wide track the Little car seemed almost Square but the design obviously contributed to the Stratos Overall agility. The fibreglass body along with the use of plastic and Light Alloy for various body parts kept the weight of the car Down. If  heat level had been rated the Stratos would have flunked hard because after two or three hours in the cockpit we were rendered temporarily deaf and sweat stained. No there was no air conditioning unit a a �.����. A a. A a a but for the aficionado it did t matter. The sound of that marvelous Ferrari engine crackling right behind your head and telling you to get on with it the Stratos was Only Happy at High speeds was we Orth any Brief loss of and the regular Road version Stratos Cost Only about $20,000 at that time. While $20,000 seemed fairly expensive in 1975 for a two seater a Stratos would bring five times that sum today if you could find one outside a museum. The Stratos was one of the most exciting Mac Bines in. The world to drive. It also made Strong demands on the Driver,.but that was fair enough. It paid you Back in full every time with its dynamic performance and remarkable Road holding. The Stratos was sheer fun and it will always rank As our favorite car. Randy Barnett March 28, 1991 stripes Magazine 9