Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

ItisinconceivablenowtoconsidertheStratos

havinganythingotherthanthisbrilliantpower-

plant. In Stradalespec, it gives 190bhp– a

24-valveheadwasdevelopedforthecompetition

cars,uppingpowerto300bhp–whichdoesn’t

soundlikeahugeamount,butthenit’spushing

somethingthatweighswellunder1000kg.

Suffice to say that it’s plenty, and it sounds

absolutelyglorious,alow-revgrowlturninginto

abarkasitzipsthroughitsrange.Ifyouhaven’t

alreadybeen seducedby the looks, you surely

willbebythenoise–asintoxicatingasanything

that hasever resonatedthroughaforest stage,

andnodoubtawelcomeantidotetothemasses

ofEscortfour-potsinperiod.

Thefive-speedgearboxisslightlyrecalcitrant

untiltheoil’swarm–particularlywhenyou’re

trying to involvesecond gear in proceedings

–andthebrakesseemabitwooden,butnone-

thelessaStratoshasafeelunlikeanythingelse.

Thatisthanksinparttoadrivingpositionthat

makesitfeelasifyou’repositionedatthehead

ofanarrow,andalsotoitscombinationofshort

December 2015 Classic&SportsCar 105

MotoringjournalistIan Fraser boughta

Stratos “whentheywere cheap”in the

1980s.“It was such an exciting lookingcar

–I was just captivatedby it. Youcouldn’t

buy themin the UK so I put out some

feelersand one turnedup in Germany.

I drove it back,arrivingin Calaislate at

night and parkingit on the streetoutside

the hotel.Not ideal,but it got left alone.

“WhenI first drove it, I remember

thinking:‘I’vegot to be carefulhere.’ Still,

the best way to steerit was via the throttle

rather than the wheel,and it would do

140mph–as promised! I got all the UK

paperwork done,whichwas complicated,

and later used it for along trip to the Alps.

Contrary to expectations,it was abeautiful

touringcar, with little wind noiseand a

surprisingamountof room.I took my late

friend‘Steady’Barker as aco-driver and

general raconteur, and he lovedit. I actually

had to fly back to the UK for aweddingat

one point,left him with the car, then flew

back out to meethim.

“ReturningthroughFrance,the clutch

hydraulicswent.We stoppedat aFiat

dealership,and he got us back on the road

in less than twohours!It was generally very

reliable,but it wasn’tthe sort of package

that madefor adaily driver.

“It was just amagiccar, with terrific

performanceand that lovely Dino engine.

I sold it aboutfour years ago, and that was

one of my greatmotoringmistakes.”

THE ENTHUSIAST

Ian Fraser

weigh only 6kg each, are finishedwith a hard

panel rather than soft trim, and featuredeep

scallopsthat were designedto hold crash

helmets.Don’texpecttofindawindow-winder,

either–theglassisraisedandloweredbymeans

of a simple wheel that you just slide up and

downwithinitschannel.

Thepedals are slightly offsetto the centre of

the car ,and there’ sthe oddsensationofhaving

acres of elbow room but almost no headroom

–especiallylaterally .Therelationship between

instrumentpodandsteeringwheelalsomeans

thatyoucan’t seetheupperreachesoftherev

counter–the yellow section onwhichstarts at

7000rpm,withtheredlineat8000rpm.

ThefamousDinoV6enginehadalwaysbeen

firstchoice,butuntilFerrariagreedtosupply

itinlate1972,Lanciamadevariouscontingency

plans, includingits own twin-cam‘four’ and

evenMaserati’s V6orV8.Intheend,though,

Maranello’sunitwasinstalledtransverselyand

in su ch awayth at ac ce ss to th edrop-gearswas

goodenoughtoallowforquickratiochanges.

LittleLanciahandles

beautifullyat modest

speeds,but is a handfulon

the limit.Right,fromtop:

sonorousFerrari-sourced

2.4-litreV6; stylised

script;steeringwheel

masksupperrev range

stipulatedthat500examplesneededtobebuilt
withina12-monthperiod,andStratosapproval
wasfinallygrantedinOctober1974.Notthat
anyonehaseverclaimedthatLanciamanagedto
buildall500and,inanycase,Group4require-
mentswerelaterreviseddownwardsto400cars.
Recordssuggestthat,atmost,498werefinished
–eventhatisthoughtbysometobewildlyopti-
mistic–withthefactorysellingthemaslateas
1978, and speciali sts buildi ng them up from
componentforminto’79.
Thefeaturedexampleischassis1595,aroad-
goingStradalevariantthatwasbuiltin1976and
whichwasoriginallypaintedgreen.Itssecond
keeper was reputedlya close friend of Enzo
Ferrariand,bythetimethatitsthirdandcurrent
ownerboughtitin1986,ithadbeenresprayed
its currentred over black. Much used and
enjoyedoverthe years, it wears its patina with
pride. Somehow, a Stratos is oneofthose cars
thatdoesn’tlookquiterightwhenit’spristine.
EveninStradalespec,there’snogettingaway
from its sole purposein life. The long doors

MARTYN GODD

ARD