Style and Substance: The Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Turbo Group 5

It's not very common in the modern era that a styling house is given responsibility for shaping a racing car, but that is exactly what happened with the Pininfarina-designed body for the Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Turbo Group 5 racer, which was active from 1979-82.  The results were spectacular, with an incredibly aggressive stance, purposeful proportions, and a livery that stands in my mind as one of the coolest paint schemes ever to grace a racing machine.  While its more famous successor, the 037 acheived a mythical status in Rally, the Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Turbo was also no slouch, winning FIA championships in 1980 and 1981 for Lancia in Group 5.  Despite its brutalistic beauty and undeniable acheivements, it's pretty hard to find a lot of good period pictures of these beasts, so I have compiled a few for your enjoyment.

Automobiliac Video of the Week: Lancia Rally cars on Japanese roads

Here's a video I had to share just for its sheer surrealism. Imagine you are driving along a Japanese highway and come across an Alitalia-liveried Lancia Stratos in the other lane. Now imagine you happen to be driving your own Martini-liveried Lancia Delta HF Integrale...too cool!

Here is a wonderfully dreamy little video from the same youtube account from inside the Stratos, along with a pleasing Hip-Hop beat. This guy is really adept at taking awesome footage with one hand while driving with the other!

Lancia Stratos Prototipo by Stile Bertone: Where is the future we were promised??

I don't think car design ever really surpassed the extremes to which the styling houses of Italy went in the early 70s with their space-age wedge designs. And perhaps the most extreme example of that archetype was the Lancia Stratos Zero by Marcello Gandini, which actually did lead to the renowned Stratos production car.  This clip is really cool because I had never seen any footage of this earth-bound spacecraft in motion before-- and the synth music just makes it even better! Those of you know me personally know that this video is so right up my alley!

Automobiliac Video of the Week DOUBLE FEATURE: Fangio in the Lancia D50 at Monaco and Alfetta 159 at Monza

In the early 70s, a fantastic documentary was made about the life and career of Argentinian maestro Juan Manuel Fangio. I was fortunate enough to have a father who owned this movie on VHS, and I watched as a kid until the tape got worn out.  While trolling through youtube, I discovered that someone had uploaded two of the movie's best scenes (sorry this version is in Spanish, but at least you can hear his actual voice).

In the first clip, Fangio, now retired, is reunited with his 1956 Lancia-Ferrari D50 at Monaco, and drives it flat out with some incredible onboard camera work and stellar editing. I get chills every time I watch this clip, and I have always loved the theme song that comes in at the end during the slow motion sequences.

In the second clip, Fangio tears around a deserted Monza circuit at sunset in his beloved 1951 Alfetta 159, in one of the most atmospheric parts of the movie.

Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

Automobiliac in Italia

Last week I found myself wandering the streets of Padova, wondering the whole time where the temperate Italian weather I had expected was to be found.  On the contrary, the air was suffused with a damp chill that cut to the bone.  But on rounding the corner into one of the town's many historic Piazzas, I saw something that improved my circulation:  This Lancia Delta HF Integrale c. 1989.

As hot hatches go it doesn't really get much better than this.  First, I had never really seen one in person before, since only a handful exist in the states - brought in through gray market channels.  The car has a compact, powerful stance, and its boxy features are so blunt and brutal that they combine to impart a rather thuggish beauty.  And that's just the beginning of the story, because these little cars were created mainly to Homologate Lancia's all-conquering Groupe A Rally cars.  Featuring 4 wheel drive and a 2 Liter 16 valve 4 cylinder offering 185hp unmodified --modified turbo cars can be bumped all the way up to 750hp-- they could sprint to 60 mph in about 6 seconds, which was quite fast for the time.  This car was probably one of the best and most exciting cars Italy produced during the 80s.  A genuine Rally car for the road. Wish I could take one home with me...

Click the photo to see the rest of the shots.