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Unhinged: The Idiocy Of Ferrari, or Just Build The Stratos Already!


Unhinged: The Idiocy Of Ferrari, or Just Build The Stratos Already!

Italian super cars are not normal, not here on BangShift, not normally on my radar, and not normal in real-life for 99% of the world’s population, period. Sure, we all have our favorites, including myself (288 GTO, please.) But none of the good ones are truly obtainable, none of the obtainable ones are worth having except to parade a badge around, and therefore they are relegated to posters, computer desktops and YouTube videos where Chris Harris and TaxTheRich show how the cars should truly be treated, while we sit and drool.

Ferrari’s latest salvo into new-car territory, following up the FXXK, is the Sergio. No, it’s not named after Sergio Marchionne…that might spin Luca de Montezemolo into a murderous fury…but instead it’s named after Sergio Pininfarina, whose coach building shop has been been working with Ferrari since day zero, with gorgeous results. And it’s a stunner, built on 458 running gear. Only six are being made, they’re all spoken for and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed that it looks like a very significant Ferrari-powered rally car from the 1970s. Yes, the original Stratos was powered by Ferrari, in the form of the Dino’s 2.4L V6. Lancia’s rally knowledge and looks, Ferrari running gear. Got it.

Lancia-Stratos_1527678c

Except a couple of years ago, we saw something very similar come out as a one-off concept. Known commonly as the 2011 Lancia Stratos Concept, the car was commissioned by a father-and-son team who had previously attempted to bring a Stratos to market. The one-off was designed by Pininfarina and was built on a shrunken down Ferrari F430 Scuderia platform, and was insanely popular the second everyone laid eyes on it…except at Ferrari, where they were so infuriated that they explicitly forbade any of their suppliers from assisting with the Stratos project at all. Lancia’s name, rally heritage, looks, Ferrari running gear. I’m sensing a trend here.

Lancia-Stratos-Concept-2011-10HFB412212104AD

 

So, this brings me to a question…Ferrari has always been a bit reluctant about the Stratos. During the original’s development, Enzo saw the Stratos as a threat to Ferrari…so much that he withheld the Dino V6 engines until the Dino went out of production. Then a couple of years ago, the company throws the equivelant of a temper tantrum because two fans of the original car decided to do a retro-modern take? On their own dime, at that? And now, they have essentially built their own version of the Stratos, except they won’t actually call it that at all, or even tip any kind of nod to the obvious Lancia-based heritage.

Kind of sad, isn’t it?


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3 thoughts on “Unhinged: The Idiocy Of Ferrari, or Just Build The Stratos Already!

  1. mooseface

    Yeah, the Lancia Stratos was a really cool car. Back in the day when Lancia was the insane problem child of the FIAT family and not just badge-engineered dreck.

  2. ColoradoKid

    OK … lets get real here . As a former ‘ F ‘ word owner ..still [ honorary ] member of the Ferrari owners club [ its like unsubscribing from HotMail … once they got you they aint never letting go ] … here’s the simple fact of what Ferrari was and has become in a nutshell ;

    Ferrari was a company [ even during the early FIAT years ] that sold road cars in order to fund its racing efforts . The road cars they built ranging from barely modified race cars to genuine GT … e.g. Grand Touring cars of the sort you would consider driving across Europe , US or Canada without blinking an eye .

    But … what Ferrari has become ever since the 456 is a company that produces Automotive jewelry for the more money than brains set with the pretense of having anything what so ever to do with the Ferrari F1 team

    So why no ‘ new ‘ Stratos ‘ ? Cause it doesn’t fit in with the image Ferrari wishes to display … rallying being F1’s ugly low life sister in their minds despite the fact that Rallying in the 80’s was more popular than F1 ever was , still is and at the present rate of decline ever will be

    As to the historical aspects of this article . Errrr …. not quite . Fact is Enzo had refused to acknowledge or build the first of the Dino’s after spending millions to develop it … with Agnelli mandating it be built under either Ferrari or FIAT guise or hasta la bye bye Enzo but the damn thing will be built .. Enzo choosing the FIAT route and the car becoming the FIAT Dino [ Spider & Coupe ] ……then later when the 911 was on the ascendency and once again after Ferrari had spent millions creating the 246 [ Dino ] .. Enzo refused to manufacture it as well … Agnelli mandating it or else … with the compromise being no Prancing Horse or Ferrari emblem on the hood .

    But … when Lancia came up with the brilliant idea of the Stratos Enzo had no choice in the matter what so ever of Lancia using the Dino V6 in the Stratos Agnelli once again laying down the law .. with by the way both the 246 and the Stratos overlapping each other … end of story

    Dino 246 production : 1968 – 1976

    Lancia Stratos production : 1972 – 1974

    So Bryan …….Here’s a book recommend if you’re seriously interested in the Stratos . Its a bit overly academic in nature and pedantic at heart …. but it IS the best , most comprehensive and complete history of the Stratos .. with sidelights of the FIAT Dino’s and the 246 interjected along the way

    ” Lancia Stratos : thirty years later ” by Andrea Curami [ Giorgio Nada Editore ]

  3. Nick D.

    I’m not a Ferrarri guy, but wow, the Sergio is pretty damn good looking. Better than the weirdness of the F12 Berlinetta and the FF.

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