Would Enough Buyers Want a Reincarnated Stratos to Make Production Feasible?
There's hardly a more outrageous vehicle than the Lancia Stratos. The Bertone design, commissioned by Fiat-owned Lancia,
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| England-based automotive design firm Fenomenon, showed its own variant of the legendary Lancia Stratos in concept-car form at this year's Geneva Motor Show. (Photo: Fenomenon) |
The original was never intended for production, but Lancia was forced by homologation rules to offer 493 examples of the vehicle to the public. Strangely enough, by the time production ended in 1980, after a seven-year run, the public finally became aware of it and ever since, hardcore rally enthusiasts with bulging wallets have wanted a piece of the action.
There's one minor problem, mind you, as Lancia won't build another Stratos. In fact, it can't build another Stratos simply because the name doesn't belong to them any more. The owner of the legendary title, including the original slanted script and badging, is now property of a London, England-based automotive
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| The project was led by 27 year-old Austrian Stratos enthusiast Christian Hrabalec, owner of no fewer than nine pristine examples. (Photo: Fenomenon) |
Fenomenon's Stratos started out life no different than any other design-house prototype. The project was led by 27 year-old Austrian Stratos enthusiast Christian Hrabalec, owner of no fewer than nine pristine examples, including the original, fluorescent red Bertone prototype. Talk about a hardcore fan! This is a dream come true for Hrabalec, who is currently studying for a degree in automotive design at the Royal College in London, England. The concept's design was penned by a group of ten professional stylists, which include the likes of Serve Porsche (credited for the Citroen C3 Pluriel).