You can by a NEW Lancia Stratos at Bonham’s Paris auction in February
The first of 25 intended units, the reborn Lancia Stratos is underpinned by a modern Ferrari
Word of a drastic retro re-imagining of the iconic Lancia Stratos have been swirling for years, but the very first example produced (of an intended 25 units) is up for grabs at Bonham’s Paris sale in February.
The Alitalia liveried car is instantly recognisable, and a faithful tribute to what the Italian wedged-wonder might look like if it were to be released in the modern age.
Underpinning the car is a shortened Ferrari F430 Scuderia, with distinctive and modernised Stratos carbon fibre bodywork draped over the top. Bonhams predict the car to fetch between AU$1.1 million and AU$1.5 million.
The Stratos must surely be one of the most replicated vehicles in modern history, with numerous kit cars available – but the MAT Stratos goes far beyond the usual backyard job.
The New Stratos was actually conceptualised back in the mid-90s, when a young Chris Hrabalek purchased the rights to the Stratos name after Lancia let it lapse.
Ten years later, Hrabalek decided to envision a modern Stratos as the final year project of his postgraduate studies at the prestigious Royal College of Art’s Vehicle Design Course.
Ten backers came forward and Hrabalek’s ‘Fenomenon Stratos’ making its public debut at the 2005 Geneva Salon.
In the mid-2000s, Hrabalek sought to put his vision into production, forming a technical partnership with Pininfarina.
By 2010, the New Stratos was ready, with the prototype driven by Ferrari’s then-CEO Luca di Montezemolo. Montezemolo had glowing words for the prototype but ultimately refused to provide Ferrari parts support to produce the intended 25 cars.
Years later, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia is no longer made, and Pininfarina’s former Special Projects Manager Paolo Garella has formed his own company, Manufattura Automobili Torina (MAT).
Garella has revived the project, using customer-provided F430 Scuderias as its base.
The Alitalia example at Bonhams is the first of the 25 planned, and is based on a 2009 Ferrari F430 Scuderia which showed 30,000kms before the drastic transformation.
The New Stratos emerged at the beginning of 2019 and was first registered in March.
It has covered around another 3,000kms since and is registered in Germany.
We imagine the MAT Stratos offers an exciting and unique proposition for the Lancia Stratos owner; and if you've ever dreamt about a Group 4 rally car for the modern age - this is it!
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