The New Stratos is preparing to prove itself where any car that wants to lay claim to Lancia’s long and rich heritage must go – in the public gaze on the rally tracks, where there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Rather, a real Lancia, steeped in the uncompromising principles of company founder Vincenzo Lancia, always rises to the challenge, no matter the opposition. And next weekend the reborn supercar will be running as the zero car on the 7th Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca.

To be driven by Michael and Maximilian Stoschek, the dramatic New Stratos will lead the ‘race’ class as the zero course car on the Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca (March 10-12), while there will be perfect symmetry provided by an original 1974 Stratos that will also be in the field chasing victory. Two automotive icons, separated by 36 years. However, the car to be used by Stoschek, himself an accomplished historic rally driver, in Mallorca will not look identical to the new Alitalia-livery rally Stratos that was shown at last November's media day at Paul Ricard, rather it will sport a different design and auxiliary headlights.

Ironically, the announcement of the New Stratos’ eagerly-anticipated rally debut comes during the same week that Lancia has rolled out three Chrysler models at the Geneva Motor Show rebadged as Lancias, as well as the new-generation Ypsilon. As a ‘badge engineering’ project that casts dark reminders of the British car industry in the 1970s, the portents are not good, and as expected, the world’s media has been very swift to ridicule the clumsy spectacle playing out in Geneva. There also appears to be little hope of the company officially endorsing the New Stratos, with Communications Director Rino Drogo saying last week that the company needed to leave “sports cars for our cousin Alfa Romeo, who has sportiness in its DNA.”

Meanwhile, in light of the absence of Lancia themselves from the scene, the New Stratos has busily set about re-establishing the shield and flag’s presence in the sportscar arena, and has instantly won over the media with its exceptional blend of dynamic abilities. Notably, the team behind the project is particularly pleased that the supercar was voted the Best Sports Car of 2010, by readers of Classic Driver. The current issue of Auto Bild also voted it the third ‘coolest’ car – an achievement of particular note, as it was the only one-off vehicle selected. All of the individuals involved in the project were made very proud by the media’s expert appraisal of both the concept and implementation of the New Stratos. Virtually all the journalists recognised that developing a worthy successor to the Lancia Stratos was not a financially-motivated decision, but rather a labour of love. To quote the project’s initiator, Stoschek: “Rarely in my entire career, have I been witness to a project where the parties involved contributed their services with so much pleasure and ambition.”

The New Stratos’ quality and performance is due in no small part to the teamwork and involvement of competent partners. The logos of those companies that were especially supportive were displayed on the New Stratos’ side panels at the Paul Ricard Circuit presentation. Particularly deserving of mention is the German company Capristo, based in Sundern. They developed the New Stratos’ entire exhaust system, continuously optimising it on an engine test bench, and finally manufacturing it out of very thin stainless steel – from manifold to sport cats. The exhaust has a guaranteed shelf life of 20,000 kilometres and was installed in the vehicle completely free of charge.

Interestingly, all of the New Stratos’ indicators, as well as the entire dashboard, have been redesigned and expanded to include a G-meter and clock. The Manettino switch in the new steering wheel has also been reprogrammed for higher performance and, lastly, the New Stratos can, of course, also be driven without engaging any electronics. While this setting delivers the greatest driving pleasure, it does, however, also require adequate driving skills and reaction speed. The New Stratos team is hoping that the winter will soon be over so that the previously-announced comparison tests with other sports cars can be carried out.

As reports on the New Stratos presentation did not appear until late January/early February in many international magazines – particularly ones outside Europe – the total number of individuals interested in purchasing the car cannot be finally ascertained for a few more weeks. Thus far, there have been roughly 40 individuals, from both Europe and overseas, who have registered their interest on the official website. Several other companies in addition to Pininfarina have offered to manufacture the limited run. As a result, costs for further vehicles should be somewhat reduced and the team has calculated the cost of the donor vehicle – a perfect condition Ferrari F430 – at around 100,000 euros, with the anticipated cost of conversion at around 300,000 euros.