After her, the World Rally only went to cars with all-wheel drive. An incredible mix of Italian excellence that has enormous values among collectors. Here is the short and intense story
Maurizio Bertera
They revived it as Evo37, with the Martini Racing livery that refers to the rally legend. Kimera, a small house in Ronchi (Cn) did a good job in creating a restomod of the Lancia 037: in April the prototype was seen on the road which led to the creation of the same model in a (small) series, sold starting at 540 thousand euros, and which will be made in only 37 copies. The price may surprise only those who do not understand: for the legendary Lancia, in the collectors’ market, it starts at 450 thousand euros for the road version and ends up in million for the official ones that have raced the rallies. This would be enough to make people understand the value of a model that has written the history of the Italian sports car. Just over 200 examples were built, given that it was the minimum number required for the Group B category, the one that irremediably marked the early 80s with fast and powerful cars – up to 600 hp – like never before. Even later, since in 1986, the FIA decided to suppress the category after a tragic series of accidents.
A BATTLE OF INFERNAL
–
Why is 037 an icon? For the fact that in 1983, he made the feat: he won the constructors’ world title, beating the fierce Audi Quattro which adopted four-wheel drive. It was the last rear-wheel drive car to do so, thanks to five wins and numerous placings in ten races. A very close battle between the Lancia team and that of the German house, divided in the end by only two points. After all, these were the times when rally myths were behind the wheel of the cars: Marku Alen, Walter Rorhl and Attilio Bettega drove in the 037, Audi were driven by Hannu Mikkola (winner of the Drivers’ World Championship), Michelle Mouton and Stig Blomqvist. It was one of the hardest-fought World Championships in history. In the final standings there are 65 drivers with at least one point and 16 houses.
debut at the show
–
The 037 project was born to respond to the change of regulation wanted by the FIA for the 1983 World Championship. project to engineer Sergio Limone. The debut took place at the Turin Motor Show in 1982. Great was the surprise to see that essentially it was a car designed in Abarth, based on the chassis of the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo, produced by Dallara and bodywork in Pininfarina. And at the time of launch, it was not known with which brand the road version would be placed on the market. The tension was considerable: the 037 had to take up the heavy legacy of the Fiat 131 Abarth, winner of three constructors ‘and two drivers’ world titles.
VOLUMEX
–
It obviously started from the engine: a 1995 cc, 16-valve in-line four-cylinder, supercharged by a Volumex compressor that developed 205 hp capable of pushing the road 037 to over 220 km / h and reaching 100 km / h from standstill in less than 7 seconds. Compared to the Beta Montecarlo it was also mounted longitudinally rather than transversely. In the variant for the World Championship the initial power was 260 hp but on the occasion of the Monte Carlo rally it reached 330 hp. A light unit, consolidated and that could be modified without many problems, something that could not have happened for example with a Ferrari V8. The winning choice was to use a volumetric compressor instead of a classic turbocharger, which allowed no delays: in practice, the power “exploded” in an instant with the consequent advantages. The traction as mentioned was rear, the gearbox of the modified Abarth type ZF, with frontal grafts.
VERY LIGHT
–
The 037 was 389cm long, 180cm wide and 124cm high. A complete cage roll-bar and a fiberglass roof were applied to the central steel body; two tubular frames were bolted to support the mechanical groups, which helped to raise the wheelbase measurement from 2,300 to 2,440 mm: a rather high value for a car of this type. On the other hand, it was necessary to make room for the two fuel tanks on the sides and the engine. Another courageous choice: the subframes were equipped with double wishbone suspension front and rear with coil springs, while a single tubular shock absorber was used on each front side, with double shock absorbers used instead at the rear. The front and rear bodywork was made of lightweight fiberglass, which reduced the weight of the car to just 960 kg. Pirelli tires also made a fundamental contribution to the 037 world championship victory: another historic national brand that could not be missing from this extraordinary pool of automotive made in Italy.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
